Someone Who Completes Me
by Kuchikiwraith
Summary: reposted! Sesshomaru finds himself drawn to a girl from the future- but her arrival in the fedual era is a harbringer of calamity, for she has a chilling conection to Naraku. UPDATE AS OF 6/21/14-ON HIATUS! (A Loki plot bunny currently owns my soul. Also, I lost a chapter and half of this story when my Flashdrive died)
1. Chapter 1

AN- Hello! This idea attacked me one night after watching Inuyasha at like two in the morning when I couldn't sleep. In my story, my character refers to Sesshomaru as an incubus— this came from something I read. Before we met his mother, it was suspected she was a succubus, which amused me to no end; it certainly would explain how… _p__retty_ Sesshomaru is, wouldn't it? Anyway, I started writing this fic, because I've hit a small snag in my other story, When Winter Fades.

A.N.2 Thanks to help from my beta readers **L.M. Avalon** and **Serenova**, this story is much better. I have edited the first four chapters to heck and back, so you might want to re-read the whole thing.

Disclaimers: Inuyasha and respective characters do not belong to me. "May It Be" does not belong to me. "It's not you'" belongs to Halestorm, one of the best bands in the world (shameless promotion here).

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><p>A deep howl echoed down the halls of the shrine, waking up the old man. He bolted upright in bed and winced as his back protested at the abrupt movement. The howl echoed down the hall again, closer to the exact place the old man did not want it to be—with him. He grabbed the large bag near his bed and hobbled down the hallway. He slipped into his great-granddaughter's room and sighed in relief that she hadn't woken up. Sidling around her room, the old man shoved some clothes and as many books as he could get into the bulging bag. The howling came from his room now, and the old man knew what it wouldn't be long before it found him.<p>

He knelt next to the girl's bed. "Alithia, wake up," he whispered in thickly-accented English, shaking her gently.

"Grandpa Souta? What's going on?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

Souta shushed her and handed her some clothes. "Get dressed as quickly as possible, Ali. We need to go," he said softly.

Ali yanked on her clothes and twisted her pink and purple streaked hair into a messy bun. Her great-grandfather hadn't approved of her dying it, especially such outrageous colors. Her eyes went wide when she spotted her great-grandfather climbing out the window. _*He's gonna hurt himself.*_ "Gramps!" she hissed and then shivered as an eerie howl came from the hallway.

"Ali, come quickly!" her grandfather said, dropping down to the ground lightly. Ali was all too pleased to listen and leapt out the window, following her strangely agile great-grandfather to the back of his property. She frowned when he led her into a well house that looked ready to fall over.

"Should we really be going into a building with no exit? Gramps, what is that sound?" she fired off her questions as he shut the old creaky door to the well house. She frowned when she spotted her ice skates and a duffel bag lashed to the bicycle her grandfather had bought for her soon after Ali had moved to Japan. "Gramps?" she questioned even as he thrust a huge yellow backpack into her arms.

"Alithia, I know you're confused and for that I'm very sorry. I'm going to send you somewhere safer than here. Something very dangerous is after you— they killed your parents, little one. I am sending you to my sister; she can protect you better than I can. I love you, Alithia," her grandpa said so rapidly she could hardly understand his English. She bit her lip as he weezily lifted the cover off the well.

"I don't understand," Ali whimpered fearfully as her grandpa began placing scrolls all over the lip of the well. She was beginning to suspect that he had lost his mind— after all; he was ninety-five years old. Her grandfather smiled at her and sat her on the edge of the well, wrapping her hand around the bike as he did so.

Before he could say anything, the roof of the well house was ripped off, and a giant shimmering chicken stuck its head in the hole it'd just made and squawked. Ali swore never to eat chicken again if only she could wake up from this nightmare. Her grandpa tossed a strip of paper at the chicken's head, arcs of lightning erupting from it the moment it attached to the beak. The chicken made a weird sound and reared backwards, its foot going through the wall.

Her grandpa kissed her forehead.

"Find Kagome and Inuyasha and give them this letter. They will know what to do," he explained slowly in English, tucking a thick envelope into her sweater pocket. The chicken came back, but now it had two heads. It made the horrible howling sound again that Ali had heard earlier and leaned in, trying to pick up Souta with its beak. Ali gasped in horror as blood splashed all over her, and she fell backwards in shock.

"Gramps!" she screamed and reached for him. As a pale green light radiated from the well, Ali saw the chicken rip her grandpa's head off, more of his blood falling on her.

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><p>Sesshomaru clenched his jaw in annoyance as Jaken picked another fight with Rin, even though she was now nineteen years old. Normally he could ignore his servant, but for the last few months, he'd felt— <em>something<em>. Everything annoyed him now.

"Jaken," he said sharply, making Jaken flinch and fall silent. His eyes narrowed as the wind ruffled his hair and brought the scent of blood. Normally he would ignore it, but this blood smelled familiar, rather like his sister-in-law. He turned to Jaken and Rin. "Stay here," he ordered and leapt into the air. He hoped that Kagome hadn't gotten herself into a situation that Inuyasha was unable to protect her from.

Ten minutes later, he landed next to the well that Rin claimed had brought Kagome here. On the edge of the well there were smears of blood, as well as two perfect handprints. Sesshomaru frowned when he couldn't find a blood trail anywhere outside the lip of the well. Just as he was about to give up the hunt, he sensed magic. It was faint but powerful and unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He followed the magic as it wove a drunken path through the tall grass until he saw a girl. Sesshomaru muttered a curse under his breath as he realized the magic came from her, and she foolishly made no attempt to hide it. His head swiveled as he sensed a demon approaching the girl. He waited for her to notice it, but it became apparent she hadn't when a grasshopper demon burst from the trees. The demon attacked her, one of its claws grazing the top of her head, making long sand colored hair tumble down her back.

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><p>Ali had officially lost her mind.<p>

First, a giant chicken had killed her great-grandfather, and now she had apparently shrunk— she was being attacked by a freakin' grasshopper. She scrambled backwards, not caring that she scrapped her leg on her bike as she did so.

The grasshopper said something to her that she didn't understand and tried to attack her again. Ali climbed to her feet and dodged the attack, looking desperately for somewhere to hide. She whipped around as the grasshopper screamed in agony, one of its legs missing. Her eyes went wide as a thin green whip arched through the air and took out three more legs. Ali turned toward where the whip came from and saw the most beautiful man she'd ever seen in her life flicking his wrist at the grasshopper, destroying it this time.

For a moment, Ali wondered if the person who had just saved her _was_ a man. He had long, silvery white hair that flowed down to his hips, and he had a perfect, statue-like posture. He turned to her and began speaking. Ali felt her jaw drop in shock as she saw the gold-colored eyes and strange markings on his cheeks and forehead. They should have made him look like a freak, but all they did was make him more attractive. The man narrowed his eyes and repeated himself, not looking entirely pleased. When he took a step toward her, Ali felt her hair brush her cheeks, ruffled by the wind. *_That grasshopper must have broken my hair band when it tried to kill me_,* she thought incoherently. The man spoke for a third time, irritation definitely coloring his voice now. When his eyes started to glow, Ali couldn't handle it anymore.

"I don't understand you," she told him in English just before blackness consumed her.

Sesshomaru huffed as the girl covered in blood crumpled to the ground and began leaking even more magic. He walked over and nudged her with his foot, his eyes narrowing at all the strange things surrounding the girl. They resembled the odd contraptions his sister in law possessed, which meant that the best place for the girl was with Inuyasha. This close to her, he could see that her sand colored hair was streaked with purple and an unusual shade of pink. Crouching, he rolled the girl over carefully and sucked in a gasp. For a human, she was very beautiful. She had thick lashes that smudged high cheekbones, a long neck and soft lips that begged to be kissed. Sesshomaru shook off the train of shocking thoughts and began inspecting her for injuries; she was covered in so much blood, he was concerned for her. _*Father would laugh, if he could see this,*_ he thought sardonically.

The only injury he found was on her leg, and the blood dripping from that wound only faintly resembled the scent of the rest of the blood that covered her. Sesshomaru picked up the girl and headed toward Inuyasha's home, subconsciously wrinkling his nose as strands of her strangely colored hair brushed his nose— it smelled very strange, almost as if it had been burned with acid. Just outside the village, the girl in his arms stirred, her thick lashes fluttering.

"Control your magic if you do not wish to be attacked again," he said when the girl's eyes finally opened. He paused as the girl lifted her head from his shoulder and frowned. Sesshomaru finally looked into the girl's eyes and felt his own eyes widen in surprise. Two orbs of bright purple gazed back at him in confusion and shock. He dragged his eyes away from hers and sighed. It was obvious she didn't understand a word he was saying.

"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?"

He turned to find the strange monk, the former traveling companion of his brother. It had been to Sesshomaru's utter surprise that the lecher had never made advances toward Rin— it was one reason he still breathed. Another reason was that he often protected Rin.

"This girl needs help. She cannot understand me, but she has one of those strange contraptions Kagome has. Perhaps my sister-in-law can help her," the demon said, narrowing his eyes when Miroku tried to take the girl from his arms. Whatever had happened to the girl, she didn't need the added stress of the pervert touching her. Almost as if she sensed it, Miroku's wife materialized, her eyes gleaming as she spotted him. "Lady Sango— this girl needs to speak with Kagome," he repeated himself, shifting the girl as she fainted again and nearly toppled out of his arms.

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><p>Not too far away, Inuyasha blew his hair out of his eyes and sighed impatiently as he waited for Kagome outside the shrine.<p>

"Geez, Inuyasha. I would think you'd have grown up more in ten years," Kagome pointed out as she stood under the tree he perched in.

Inuyasha dropped to the ground and smiled at his wife. "I get bored waiting," he reminded her, pulling Kagome into his arms.

"Let's go home," she said after snuggling into his chest for a moment. Inuyasha smiled and turned so she could climb onto his back.

They'd only been back in Kaede's village for two minutes when Inuyasha lifted his head and sniffed. "Kagome, does your brother have spiritual powers?" he asked seriously.

Kagome shook her head, confused.

"I smell him and my bastard of a brother," Inuyasha explained darkly in answer to her unspoken question. Kagome rolled her eyes. She didn't know why the brothers still acted as if they hated each other, they'd actually become good friends and now considered themselves a real family. But it wasn't something they admitted out loud. She climbed on her husband's back with a sigh, and he returned to the village.

A minute after they'd arrived; Sango led Sesshomaru over to Kagome. Much to the priestess's shock, a blood-covered human was cradled in his arms. "Bring her over here," Kagome ordered, leading the way into Kaede's hut, hiding a smile at the protective grip he had on the human girl. He had certainly changed since attempting to kill her husband ten and a half long years ago.

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><p>Ali flinched as cold water dripped down her temple, startling her into awareness of the world.<p>

"WAAAAH! Kagome, Inuyasha is being mean again!" a boy who looked to be about eight years old burst into the room before Ali could say anything. It didn't help that she still couldn't understand anything anyone was saying around her.

She stared as a shorter, rougher version of her savior entered the room after the little boy, though his face didn't have any markings. Ali tilted her head as movement on top of the boy's head caught her attention— they looked like _ears_. He began shouting at the little boy, thumping the top of his head with a fist. The little boy wailed, and the forehead of a nearby woman dressed like a shrine maiden pulsed.

"INUYASHA!" Ali was suddenly reminded of a dog that had been caught doing something bad as the silver-haired man's ears went flat against his skull. "_OSWARI_!" A necklace around the puppy-eared boy glowed pink before yanking him to the ground. A minute later, he stood up and began yelling at the shrine maiden, who yelled right back; the little boy perched on her shoulder. It looked as if the redheaded child had a tail, which only confused Ali more. She turned her head as she sensed someone watching her and saw the man who had saved her from the grasshopper, their eyes locking. The man pulled away after a moment and said something to the group of people arguing.

Sesshomaru considered punching his stupid brother as he picked a fight with the little fox demon, their raised voices giving him a headache. Despite coming to see Rin several times a year for the last ten years, he still did not like spending very much time around humans. It made him too soft, in his opinion. Not to mention his brother was always picking fights with someone. Right now for example, he was jealously growling at the fox demon perched on Kagome's shoulder. Movement caught his eye, and he watched as the girl's eyes threatened to pop out of her head watching his brother's family. As if sensing his gaze, the girl turned her head and locked eyes with him. Sesshomaru didn't understand the sudden urge he had to lick her cheek, nor his sudden need to hold her again. *_I will not be Father._* He broke eye contact and closed his eyes.

"She is awake again," he said just loudly enough to interrupt the fighting. Kagome immediately looked down at the girl and knelt next to her, saying something in a strange language.

Ali was surprised to hear English coming from the shrine maiden's mouth, though it was heavily accented. In fact, she sounded a lot like Grandpa Souta. "I'm glad to see that you are not hurt. Do you know what happened?" she asked Ali kindly. Ali shivered as she remembered the creepy chicken that had killed her grandfather.

"I— my— there was—" she stuttered, the memory of blood splashing her making her panic.

The shrine maiden picked up her hand and squeezed it. "Go slowly. I know it's a huge shock. Unfortunately, you aren't dreaming— I know it feels that way, but you have to adjust quickly or else you'll be dead really quick."

Ali took a deep breath as the sorrow choked her. For some reason, she believed this woman; it meant that her great-grandfather really had been killed by a chicken, and she had no one left in the world.

Kagome frowned as the girl shivered and choked back a sob. There was something very strange about this girl— magic was swirling around her like crazy— but it wasn't youkai or miko magic. She looked around the room, surprised that no one else sensed it, except for Sesshomaru. Kagome guessed that that was the reason he hadn't left yet; he wasn't about to let Rin be around someone with magic he couldn't identify, and they couldn't control.

The girl took a shaky breath and began speaking. "When I was five, we were coming home from my dance recital when we were hit by a drunk driver. I broke my arm, and my parents were killed on impact. I didn't talk for three years, and because of that, no one knew about my great-grandfather. I had nightmares about the car accident so frequently that one of my foster families finally got me some help— and I started talking. It took four years to backtrack my foster care records to when I first entered the system. Before I could go to Japan to meet him, I fought with my foster family and ran away. It wasn't until a few months ago that I was able to meet Gramps and then—" the girl blanched and closed her eyes.

Kagome translated everything she'd said to the others in the room, giving the girl a moment to recover.

"I hold a dual citizenship for America and Japan, which meant that even though Gramps was Japanese, if he was proved competent, then I could live with him. I moved in with Gramps seven months ago. Last night, he woke me up and made me get dressed. When I started to ask him what was wrong, I heard this weird howling sound. Gramps took me outside through the freakin' window and into this old well house that looked about ready to collapse. He had all this… _stuff_ ready in there, even my brand new mountain bike. He told me he was sending me somewhere safe. Then the chicken attacked us. I know that sounds insane, but it's true. It was this chicken bigger than the house, and it seemed kinda pissed off. Gramps did something that hurt it and told me he loved me, and that I had to find his sister. The chicken came back and— and bit him. I fell backwards into the well, and the last thing I remember was more blood falling on me as the chicken ripped off his head," the girl said quietly, her face turning an alarming shade of green. "Well, and I remember that man saving me."

Kagome felt her stomach flip; it was a lot to take in. "What happened then?" she asked the girl, glancing at Sesshomaru in surprise— it was a little unlike him to arbitrarily save humans. As if sensing her gaze, Sesshomaru defiantly flashed her a bit of fang without opening his eyes.

"I saw this green light, and all of the sudden the chicken was gone, and I could see sky— it was morning. I climbed out of the well and tried to find the house. That was when that man saved me from a giant grasshopper."

"What is your name, little one?" Kagome asked as the girl paled again.

"Alithia Mizuki Higurashi. I usually go by Ali," the girl whispered to the shrine maiden.

Kagome's heart sank. "What is your grandpa's name?" she asked fearfully.

"Souta," the girl answered softly.

Kagome made a strangled gasping sound in her throat and clapped her hands over her mouth. It took her a minute to compose herself, and she gripped Inuyasha's hand tightly.

"What did she say to upset you?" Inuyasha demanded, not liking how rattled Kagome looked. His wife was hardly ever upset by anything since they'd defeated Naraku. "I can—" he started to say he'd kill the girl, but Kagome squeezed his hand tighter to cut him off mid-rant.

"Give me a minute," Kagome pleaded of him. "I have to ask her one more thing."

Ali pulled herself into a sitting position and tried not to think about Gramps. Every time she did, her chest tightened and black spots filled her vision. She locked eyes with the creepily beautiful man again and found she could breathe. Of all the strange people surrounding her, he seemed the most out of place. She absently wondered again if he was an incubus as she remembered the myths that she'd heard in foster care about how incubi and succubi possessed unusually beautiful features to draw in unsuspecting victims.

"Did your Gramps tell you anything else?" the shrine maiden asked her, startling her out of her thoughts. Ali didn't drop her gaze from the man as she pulled out the envelope that only had a few drops of blood on it. It had been protected from the majority of the blood by the yellow bag.

Kagome opened the letter with trembling fingers and skimmed it quickly.

**Dear sis,**

**I wish you were reading this under better circumstances. The girl who gave you this letter is my great-granddaughter— though you've probably figured that out already. I regret that I didn't find her sooner than I did. She has had many difficulties, all exaggerated by the fact that she is part fox-spirit of some sort. She is not aware of this at all, and it's only a guess on my part. I say spirit and not demon, because she does not feel like any youkai I've ever met. **

**Through hard training, I've learned to sense youkai and half-youkai. I even met Sesshomaru once, in the present. Man, how you could talk about him so casually is beyond me. That man is scary. **

**I wish I knew more about Ali's parents than I do. Whatever happened to them wasn't an accident like she says. I don't know of any car accident that makes a child scream about giant spiders in her sleep. When my grandson was a small child, I used to tell him stories about you and Inuyasha. When he was about twelve, he stopped believing me. We had a fight one afternoon— something I regret deeply. I never saw him again and never knew he had a child. When I did find out about Ali, I tried to find her mother's family and found nothing except that Alithia's mother had something to do with Inari and his fox spirits. I think, from what little you said of Naraku, he was responsible for the death of Ali's parents. **

**I sent her to you, because you've already fought Naraku once— though from what you said about him, I sincerely hope no one was foolish enough to try to bring him back to life. Ali doesn't know this yet, but the last people Ali lived with died recently, which is when I decided she had to be sent to you. I've spent several weeks making the preparations, praying that whatever is after her doesn't find her until then. Included with the letter is all the information I have about Ali's family. **

**I love you, sis.**

—**Souta**

Kagome silently folded the letter and closed her eyes, determined not to cry. A deep breath later, and she was ready to tell her friends everything she'd learned, leaving out the part about Souta meeting her brother-in-law.

Sesshomaru could feel the girl's purple eyes on him, as he listened to his sister-in-law translate the rest of the girl's story. He kept his eyes closed, only opening them when Kagome mentioned that the girl might be a demi-spirit. He stared hard at the girl, who looked ready to faint again. Now that he knew what she was, it explained the hazy shield around her— a glamour. Although he didn't say it, Sesshomaru suspected the girl was a goddess rather than a spirit, as Kagome had said her brother believed.

He'd met few youkai capable of maintaining such a powerful illusion for as long as she had apparently. Concentrating, he realized that the glamour was not put in place by her, but by someone close to her. Her true form was not much different than the human she looked like. Like his brother, she had a pair of silky white ears, though hers where longer, narrower, and tipped with gold. He was surprised to see a tail with similar markings to her ears. Inuyasha didn't have one, so Sesshomaru assumed she was _more_ than half-goddess. He could feel the magic that protected her from humans dissipating and debated whether or not to bring it up.

"She has a powerful illusion spell on her, but it's fading. Perhaps it is just as well that she is here," he surprised even himself by speaking. Kagome tilted her head and gasped as she saw through the illusion, too.

Ali didn't like the way everyone was staring at her. Her spine went rigid, and she stood up shakily, glaring at them all. She'd had enough of this crap already. She wanted to know what the hell was going on. "What is it? Why is everyone staring at me?" she growled out in English, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

The shrine maiden looked at her and sighed. "It seems that you're part fox spirit, though I've never heard of one marrying a human before. I'm Kagome, your great-grandpa's sister. You time-traveled through a well into feudal Japan. Someone put an illusion spell on you to hide your fox features."

Ali stared at Kagome and folded her arms across her chest. "Bullshit. There's no way I'm in feudal Japan. I'd have been burned as a witch by now just for my clothes and especially for my bicycle," she argued, feeling more and more hostile toward these strange people. "And I'm most certainly not a fox spirit!" she shouted.

Sesshomaru was rather surprised by the backbone the girl started showing even though she was obviously scared. Her fear burned acidly in his nose, making him want to gag on the thickness of it. She began speaking to Kagome in a hostile tone, and her aura flared up to the point everyone else in the small hut dropped to their knees from the pressure. He cursed inwardly as he realized she was dangerously close to losing control of herself.

Quickly, he strode over and stood in front of the girl, growling and increasing his own spiritual pressure until it overwhelmed her senses. When her eyes rolled into the back of her head, he caught her so she wouldn't fall into the fire she'd toppled toward. Again, he had the urge to cradle her against his chest and nuzzle her. And again, he fought the urge off.

"What in the world is going on here?"

Sesshomaru turned his head and saw the old woman Rin lived with. "Another traveler from Kagome's world," Sesshomaru explained before adding in a disgusted tone, "She is part fox spirit, though she was apparently unaware of the fact until now." He realized that everyone but his brother had been overwhelmed by the pressure he had extorted and had passed out. Even Inuyasha was looking a bit dazed. He laid the girl down at Kaede's feet. "Don't let her around Rin until she gains control," he commanded, slipping out of the hut.

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><p><em><strong>Three months later<strong>_

Ali sighed and flicked her long white ear to rid herself of the annoying flea demon. "Such sweet blood," the little voice buzzed in her ear.

"Go away, Myoga. I want to be alone," she snapped. It hadn't been easy to accept that she was really in feudal Japan. It hadn't been easy to accept that she had magical powers either, but the glamour she'd worn most of her life had vanished after only a week here, and she'd been forced to accept that she really was a fox spirit_.*Goddess. Myoga says I'm part goddess,* _she reminded herself. The flea demon had taken one taste of her blood and had pronounced her great-grandfather mistaken.

Myoga hopped off, miffed that she wasn't going let him drink her blood and headed back to the village. Ali wondered if one of her powers was to learn foreign languages quickly— she'd learned both modern Japanese and the feudal language in just two months— or if she'd picked it up so easily from watching anime all the time.

Ali found her special pond with relief and tried to leap onto the rocky outcropping gracefully. Instead, she nearly slid off the edge. She pulled herself up with a little effort and then stood as straight as she could. The evening breeze ruffled her sandy hair that was highlighted with pink and purple and brought the scent of coming rain. She looked up at the sky to search it for clouds. All she saw was the first star and let her lips curve upward into a smile. There was one thing that was lovely about being stuck in the past: she could see the stars so clearly without the pollution of the modern world blocking them. She sighed and closed her eyes, beginning to sing.

Sesshomaru found himself thinking of the fox girl again and cursed to himself. In the three months since he'd left her with his brother's pack, he'd thought about her a lot. She reminded him that he was lonely. It was irritating, but it served a great purpose. Jaken had been quieter than usual.

Sesshomaru paused as his nose caught the scent of the very girl he was trying not to think about. "Jaken. Go to the village," he ordered. He'd purchased Rin a new kimono for her wedding to Kohaku. The only reason he'd allowed it was because Rin had looked so happy when she'd told him. He'd hoped she would want to marry someone of a higher class, but he supposed a demon slayer was good enough. Kohaku was a strong young man and had proven his worth many times over. Sesshomaru's thoughts were interrupted by the voice that floated on the wind to his ears.

"_May it be the shadow's call will fly away."_

Sesshomaru followed the voice until he found a large pond. He stayed hidden in the tree line and listened to the girl from the future sing. He didn't know why he didn't reveal himself— it wasn't as if he could understand what she was singing.

"_I've found someone who completes me._"

When she wasn't covered in blood, she was even more beautiful. Irritated with himself, he stepped out from under the trees even as the girl began to sing something he could understand.

Ali stumbled over the next line in her song and made a face. She really wished she had the lyrics to the song she was singing; she always messed up on this particular line. Ali felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and realized she was being watched. When she stepped closer to the edge of her rock, she couldn't have been more shocked. It was the incubus.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she greeted politely and bowed to cover her blush of embarrassment. She never sang in front of people; she was good enough to be in a choir, but not good enough to sing solo. "Urm, thank you for saving me that day and for keeping me from hurting everyone," she added hastily, now that she was able to speak to him in his own language.

Sesshomaru was impressed with the respect the girl showed him. "Your control over your magic has improved," he said by way of a compliment.

The girl's head lifted, red staining her cheeks. "Yeah, but I haven't perfected it yet. I'm not even sure what sort of things I can do besides create fox fire," she said modestly, brushing her hair away from her cheek.

Sesshomaru extended his arm to the girl from the side of the pond he was on, indicating that she should join him. "We should return to the village before something finds you." He did not know why her safety mattered.

The girl laughed and took a few steps backwards, holding her hands up. "I've never jumped that far—I doubt I can make it all the way over there in one piece," she protested. "I barely made it up here in the first place."

Sesshomaru leapt across the pond and landed in front of her. "I will show you how," he offered, extending his arm again. The girl blushed even harder and took his hand, gulping slightly. Sesshomaru placed a clawed hand on her waist gently and glanced down. "When I say to, jump as high as you can using your calves," he instructed, crouching down.

Ali ignored the shiver that ran up her spine as the demon lord placed a clawed hand on her waist, his long nails pricking into her skin through her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she mimicked his stance.

"Jump."

Ali shivered again as his breath warmed her long ears. She pretended that the incubus part of him was responsible for her reaction to him. Ali leapt into the air, her stomach dropping as they flew into the air. She staggered when they landed on the opposite bank of the pond, her fingers tightened on his hand to steady herself.

"See, you were able to do it. You only have to believe in yourself," the demon lord said, staring down at her. She lowered her lashes shyly, not used to anyone looking at her like that— not even Eddie had looked at her like the demon lord was. Lord Sesshomaru stepped away from her and began walking toward the village. Ali followed him with a tiny smile. She rather liked him— he didn't treat her like a child. "You sing very well," the demon lord commented.

Ali flushed a bright red. "Thank you," she whispered bashfully.

"Have you never received praise before?" the demon lord asked, glancing at her.

"Yes, of course I have, just not for my singing. I don't do that in front of people," she confessed with her eyes on the ground. She'd also received compliments before, but for some reason, it was different coming from him. "You can call me Alithia," she offered, sensing that he wasn't the type to use nicknames often.

"Hnn," he hummed thoughtfully in reply.

For the next ten minutes, they walked in silence, going down a path Ali hadn't used before. She got an uneasy feeling as they crossed a large field of grass, and she began swiveling her ears to check for attackers. As they neared a cave, every hair on her body stood on end. She froze in place and let a low growl escape her throat.

Sesshomaru snorted inwardly to himself.- Apparently visiting Rin so often for the last ten years had made him softer then he'd initially realized. *_You only have to believe in yourself? I sounded like— __**Father**_.* When he heard the low growl, he realized that the girl was no longer following him and turned around in irritation. He stared at Alithia, who had her lips drawn back in a snarl as she stared at something. He'd never seen anything like it— it was as if every hair on her body stood on end, making her clothing push away from her skin. Her long white ears were pinned so tightly against her head that he couldn't see the gold tips anymore. Sesshomaru thought she looked like a giant ball of fuzz. Agitated by the fact that he found it cute, he stepped in front of her.

"Alithia," he said. It was such a strange name to say that he nearly stumbled over it. The girl gasped and placed a clawed hand on her chest, shaking herself out of whatever trance she had been in.

"What is that place?" she asked, pointing to a cave. Sesshomaru turned his head to see what she was talking about, raising an eyebrow when he saw the cave Naraku had been created in, according to Rin.

"An ambitious half-demon was born there, but you have nothing to fear. He was destroyed ten years ago." Sesshomaru wondered how much power she had if she could sense the tainted cave; she had stated she hadn't even begun to discover her powers. "It is late," he reminded her and walked toward the village again, making sure Alithia was on his right. Once they'd reached the village, she stopped bristling, and her ears returned to their normal position.

"If he's been dead for ten years, then why did that place feel so… _nasty_?" she asked. Sesshomaru did not have an answer for that.


	2. Chapter 2

AN-I have reposted this story, so if you've read it, you'll notice a few changes. You might want to go back to ch1 and reread it... or not. anyway, much thanks to **Serenova** and **L.M. Avalon** for all their help!  
>Ali batted at the flower bud playfully with one delicate paw. Two days ago, she'd learned how to change into a fox. Spotting a butterfly, she left the flower alone and chased it, yipping happily.<p>

She rather wanted to see the demon lord again; it had been three weeks since he'd walked her past the creepy cave. Despite what everyone but Rin said, she didn't find him scary or intimidating at all. She liked that he was quiet. She didn't deny there was bit of a physical attraction, but she attributed that to his incubus nature- he had that creepy beautiful thing that she'd always assumed soul suckers had in the fairy tales she'd read as a child.

She caught the butterfly in her mouth and promptly spit it out— it tasted nasty. She sneezed as dust went up her nose and shook her head.

"Mew!"

Ali jumped as Kirara popped out of the tall grass. She growled playfully at Ali, who growled back. Dancing away, Ali dared the cat demon to catch her. She was distracted ten minutes later when she saw a strange stick bobbing in the tall grass. Ali felt a canine grin cross her face as she spotted the toad demon that was about the same size as her. Ali stalked it quietly for several minutes, and when it began crying about being left behind, she pounced.

Sesshomaru sighed audibly. Jaken was an excellent servant, but he _never _shut up. Instead of scolding him, Sesshomaru silently began walking faster. Ten minutes later, he whipped around as Jaken let out a truly terrified scream. When he saw Jaken pinned to the ground facedown by a little white fox with gold tipped ears and tail, he nearly laughed—a truly unusual urge for him. The fox jumped back into the tall grass as Jaken reached for the staff of two heads and pulled himself to his feet.

"Lord Sesshomaru, we should leave this place— there is something here. It almost ate me!" Jaken whined. Sesshomaru snorted and started walking again. When he heard the grass rustle a few minutes later, he allowed Jaken to pass him. When the white and gold fox pounced again, he caught it in mid-air. The fox scrunched up cutely, looking at him with huge purple eyes.

"You should not assault other people's servants," he told Alithia, fighting a smile. He wondered when she'd learned how to change into this form. She let out a cheerful yip and squirmed in his hand, trying to get down. He looked at her elegant little body and frowned. Ali's white fur was striped with silver, but not in a way that looked natural or even artificial, as the purple and pink streaks that tinted her hair appeared and smelled— some were jagged, some whip thin, while still others were thicker than his thumb.

Ali was tempted to nip the demon lord's hand to make him let go. He was making her uncomfortable with the way his gold eyes seemed to burn right through her. Finally, he dropped her, and she darted off into the grass, so she could shift back and get dressed; it had been to her utter humiliation that she discovered when she turned back into her humanoid form the very first time, she was naked; now Ali was always prepared with extra clothes. She caught up with the demon lord and bowed.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Lord Sesshomaru," she apologized.

"Hnn."

They walked toward the village in silence; Ali grew more and more uncomfortable as the demon lord flicked sideways glances at her. "Alithia, why do you have silver stripes?" he asked softly, staring at the road ahead of them.

Jaken wondered what was wrong with his lord as he trailed behind the two. He'd never seen Sesshomaru act this way toward anyone before— not even the brat. Sesshomaru did not converse with anyone so casually, especially not half-demons. He gasped as he finally recognized the aura of the thing that had attacked him not five minutes ago. He quickly swiveled the staff of two heads and launched a stream of fire from the mouth of the old man toward the girl. Jaken gapped as the fire was absorbed into the half-demon instead of hurting it. The halfling turned and shot him a dirty look.

"Hey, it's rude to attack people from behind, you stupid toad," she snapped, her fangs showing. Jaken was about to reply when he saw the icy cold look in his master's eyes that warned him not to say anything. He blanched and mumbled an apology to the creature and waited for the pair to start walking again.

"You did not answer my question."

Ali flinched inwardly at the demanding tone of the demon lord. *_Damn, he's not going to let it go,*_ she thought. "They're just scars," she admitted, answering his question. Without taking a breath, she quickly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about how ugly she thought the marks made her. "Rin didn't think you'd come to the wedding. She'll be happy to see you again so soon." The only place on her body that didn't have visible scars was her face. She'd never been self-conscious about the bodily scars until Eddie. She shut off that train thought before it could upset her and peered suspiciously over her shoulder at the muttering toad demon.

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow at Ali's evasion of his question. It was clear that her scars were not something she was going to discuss with a stranger. He doubted she spoke of it with anyone. When her scent was flooded with shame, he nearly choked at its acridness. Sesshomaru blinked as he felt her self-loathing flare immediately after talking and then vanish before she shot Jaken a suspicious look, who was muttering under his breath behind them.

"When did you learn how to Change?" he asked her.

Ali smiled happily, making him swallow hard. She was very lovely when she did that. Sesshomaru turned his attention to the road and ignored his reaction to the girl. "Two nights ago, actually. I woke up looking like a fox and just had to run around for a bit. No one else knows yet, though," she said, swiveling to face him and walking backwards a little further ahead on the path, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Hnn," he replied, lifting an eyebrow at the way she gracefully dodged any obstacles in her path without needing to look. "You learned how to speak this tongue remarkably fast," he commented, turning his eyes away from her.

"Yeah; I don't know why, though…" Ali answered distractedly, one of her elegant white ears swiveling around as she walked. Suddenly, she spun to the left and took off, moving faster than Sesshomaru had ever seen even Inuyasha go. A piercing scream ripped through the air a split second later, and Sesshomaru's eyes widened.

*_Did she hear that before me? Impossible!_*

Ali leapt over a log and slid to a halt in the middle of the large grassy field. Straight ahead of her, a tall, scrawny man held a small girl against his chest, nuzzling her in an extremely creepy way. A flicker of movement caught Ali's eye, and she saw a pincer extending from the man's hip pinning a sobbing woman to the ground, who reached desperately for the child, ignoring the fact that she was bleeding heavily from where she was impaled.

"Let the girl go, you filth," Ali ordered, eyes blazing as she cracked her knuckles threateningly. The man turned to Ali and deliberately licked the child's cheek in a sensual manner as he maintained eye contact.

"But she's so sweet and tasty. So innocent," he purred. "Ones like this are delicious. She's going to be a miko… if I chose to let her live, that is," he added.

Ali clenched her jaw and glared. "I said, _let her go_," she repeated and stepped closer to the demon. The demon snorted dismissively and began pulling the little girl's kimono off. Ali launched herself at the creep and was promptly slammed head-first into the ground. With the fox out of the way, the demon killed the impaled woman and began walking away with the girl, caressing her every step of the way.

Sesshomaru followed the sounds of the frantic screams, moving faster as the smell of blood filled the air. When he reached the clearing, he had to lift his sleeve to cover his nose to keep from gagging on the smell of lust. His eyes flicked to Ali, sighing inwardly as he saw her blank eyes. *_Stupid half-breed_,* he thought in annoyance.

"Mommy!" a childish voice echoed across the clearing, and Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the demon that had killed the woman.

"Demons like you disgust me," he said, flexing his hand.

The scum turned and smirked at the demon lord. "Oh, aren't you the pretty one. Perhaps after I'm done with this miko, we can have some fun."

Sesshomaru scoffed at the disgusting proposition. "This Sesshomaru does not think so," he said, eyes narrowing as something tentacle-like slid under the small girl's kimono, making her scream for her mother again. The hair on the back of Sesshomaru's neck stood up as he felt something behind him, making him leap into the air away from the new threat. He landed lightly on a log and turned his head toward the disturbance. His eyes widened as he saw Alithia pulling herself to her feet, silver energy crackling all around her, arching off of her in elegant ropy strands.

"**I SAID TO LET HER GO**."

There weren't many things that scared the Lord of the Western Lands— if truth be told, he'd never been truly scared in his entire life, save for the time he'd made Inuyasha go full-demon. Now, with blood pouring down the side of her head and her eyes glowing red and silver over an uncompromising scowl, Alithia Mizuki Higurashi made Sesshomaru's blood run cold.

The demon holding the child turned toward Alithia and smirked. "Make me, half-breed bitch," he sneered and tried to spear her with one of his tentacles. Both he and Sesshomaru blinked when the tentacle only hit the dirt, the fox girl having disappeared.

"**I DISLIKE REPEATING MYSELF**." The cold, sinister voice issuing from Alithia's throat and echoing directly into his brain unnerved Sesshomaru more than the way she'd teleported a hundred feet to stand in front of the other demon, who had finally dropped the child to the ground.

"Aww, mikos aren't as fun as the others anyway," he said casually as the child ran away. He leered down at Alithia. "I bet I can teach you some very fun things," he promised menacingly, sliding his tentacles around Alithia's ankles and up her legs. Just as Sesshomaru moved to save her, the demon screamed in agony as blood exploded from his groin. He clutched himself and backed away from the expressionless girl in front of him. "Bitch!" he screamed and reached for her again. "You'll pay for—" The demon choked and reached for the throat he no longer possessed, finding nothing but a gaping hole instead. Alithia then speared him through the chest with her hand. The demon's spirit stood over his mutilated, dead body looking confused until she pointed at it.

"**BURN IN HELL**," she ordered, and the demon spirit evaporated in a puff of flame. Alithia coldly flicked the blood from her claws and then turned to Sesshomaru. He lifted an eyebrow at her, daring her to attack him. To emphasize his point, Sesshomaru placed his hand on Bakuseiga. Alithia blinked a few times, and her eyes returned to their normal purple.

Ali lifted a hand to her aching head and swayed. The last thing she really remembered was sprinting toward the demon. She flinched as someone reached for her, ducking and staggering away from them.

"This Sesshomaru does not wish to harm you," a familiar voice rumbled. She stared at the demon lord as clawed fingers gently pulled her hand away from her head.

"What happened?" she asked faintly, her knees buckling. Gentle arms wrapped around her and lowered her to the ground.

"You killed a demon," the lord said dryly. Ali winced as his fingers probed the cut on her head, her fingers curling around his wrist.

"You must be joking. I can't even kick Shippo's ass, and he's just a kid. You expect me to believe I killed a fully fledged demon?" She snorted in derision.

"Truthfully, you slaughtered him, Alithia," the demon lord responded after a moment.

She tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "You were scared," she commented softly.

Sesshomaru finally looked down at the half-goddess. "Yes," he said simply, and then tilted her head sideways. "Do not move for a moment. I am going to heal you since you are too weak to do it yourself at the moment." He traced the crescent-shaped cut on her temple with his tongue. The third time he traced the wound, he felt it seal up.

"Doesn't that taste disgusting?" Alithia inquired as she raised shaking fingers to touch the scar. Sesshomaru shrugged and gently pushed her fingers away.

"No." he began rubbing the blood from her temple with his sleeve.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I felt a great power and feared for you!" Jaken came stumbling to a halt as he found Sesshomaru. The demon lord glared at the imp and shifted Alithia's now trembling form into his arms.

"Jaken, find Ah-Un and set up camp," he ordered and tucked his Mokomoko around Alithia. He would figure out why he felt the need to take care of the half-goddess later— this episode had confirmed that she certainly wasn't a half-fox spirit. He carried her away from the battlefield, pausing only to revive the child's mother with Tenseiga.

Three days later, Lord Sesshomaru stood in the shadows and watched his ward get married, a strange feeling clenching his chest at the sight of Rin becoming forever linked with Kohaku. His gaze fell on Alithia as he smelled her tears and realized that she felt the same way he did— lonely. Whirling away, he returned to his normal patrol route and tried not to think of the half-goddess who was still recovering from slaying the slimy demon.

_**Four months later**_

Sesshomaru stood in the shadow of a tree and watched Alithia dance across the surface of the frozen pond. How she stayed upright on such perilously thin blades was beyond him. He folded his arms across his chest and lifted an eyebrow as the half-goddess launched herself into the air, twisting around several times before landing gracefully. Sesshomaru had stopped because of the strange music and the small fire; it was too close to Rin's new home to just let it burn out of control. He hadn't expected to see Alithia and was rather impressed with the girl; she had gotten even better at controlling her magic if the way the music pouring from the fire was any indication. Sesshomaru winced when Ali jumped again and landed awkwardly on the ice, spinning across the surface on her ass to the edge of the pond near where he stood.

Ali rubbed her lower back and cussed loudly. She hated when she fell like that; it freaking hurt and screwed her routines up for the rest of the day. A large hand filled her vision, making her blink.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she gasped and accepted his hand, mentally commanding the music to stop as she admired his striped wrists.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Higurashi-san. I could have killed you at any time," he pointed out as he pulled her to her feet. Ali blushed but didn't let go of his hand.

"I know. I just… I did _it_ again. It makes me so tired and screws up my senses." The demon lord arched an eyebrow at her with a silent question. "It wasn't a demon this time. He was just a man," she explained, dropping her gaze to the snow.

Clawed fingers tilted her chin up gently. "What happened?"

Ali sighed and licked her lips, trying not to cry. "About a week ago, I was taking some medicines to a village nearby for Kagome, and I heard someone crying for help. The next thing I knew, there was blood everywhere, and this woman was giving me a very expensive kimono. The villagers told me that I'd killed their former chief— but he was corrupt, and three of his wives had died under strange circumstances, as did several of his children. When I left, it looked like they were building a statue of me." She blew a strand of hair from her eyes, frustrated by the memory loss and the embarrassment of being so admired. She wasn't thrilled with the thought of having killed a human being, no matter how awful he was.

Sesshomaru stared down at the half-goddess and cursed at himself for not noticing her current weakened state. "What does the old priestess say?" he asked, dropping his hand from Alithia's jaw, which he finally realized was still cradling her face.

"I haven't mentioned it yet." The girl shrugged, absently rubbing the scar he'd healed four months earlier. Sesshomaru let a sigh escape his lips.

"The old woman is a miko. You need to tell her about this," he said sternly.

"But she can't help me— neither can Kagome. They've been trying to ever since I accepted that I was a goddess, but my powers are too different. Shippo helps when he can, but he's only a year older than me even if he only looks eight years old. He's shown me everything he knows. Miroku helps occasionally, but I don't like asking him, because he has a family to take care of. Besides, sometimes he gives me a weird look and starts rubbing my hand." The girl shrugged and giggled embarrassingly. "Somehow, every time he does that, Sango shows up and hits him with her giant boomerang thing. It's almost as funny as playing tricks on your brother."

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow, the shadow of a smirk on his face.

"My personal favorite is throwing small round objects across a field," Ali confided. "He chases them nearly every time." Her fangs flashed as she grinned wickedly. Sesshomaru smiled back automatically as he pictured his brother acting like an idiot. An icy breeze made Sesshomaru realize he still held Alithia's hand; he dropped it and tucked his hands into his sleeves. He stared down at her and frowned when he realized she wasn't even shivering despite the lack of clothing she wore.

"How are you not cold?" he asked.

Ali blinked at the demon lord's expression and skated backwards with a blush. She'd never felt so naked in her life as she did at that moment and tugged at the edge of her shimmering black skirt. "The skating keeps me warm," she said finally, her eyes dropping to the ice. *_He isn't Eddie, and this is feudal Japan. I probably__look like a hooker to him,* _Ali reminded herself.

Sesshomaru seemed to sense he'd made her uncomfortable. "Why were you delivering medicine to that village alone?" he asked to bring the subject back around to something else.

Ali sighed. "Sango and the twins were sick, Kohaku and Miroku were off killing a demon, and Inuyasha was busy driving Kagome and Rin insane. They're both three months pregnant," she said as she rubbed her scar again. "Actually, Inuyasha is driving everyone insane. He growls at anyone who gets within five feet of Kagome, and he won't let her do anything. I think he's just worried about history repeating itself— everyone else thinks he's just nuts," Alithia said as she rolled her eyes.

Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow and snorted at his brother's behavior. *_How utterly weak_,_*_ he thought scornfully. _*His mother was a mere human— Kagome on the other hand has miko powers to protect her from the difficulties of delivering a part demonic child.* _

"Ali!"

He turned his head toward the village as the very woman they were speaking of called for the girl on the ice. Sesshomaru watched with interest as Alithia's ears swiveled toward Kagome's voice even though his sister-in-law was a quarter of a mile away. "You heard her?" he asked Alithia.

She nodded and rubbed her scar again. "I chose this particular pond for a lot of reasons, one of them being that I can hear what's going on in the village if I try." Sesshomaru was impressed with her hearing skills. "I wonder where Inuyasha is," Alithia continued. "Right about now he should be trying to take her back home," she mused.

Sesshomaru scoffed and turned to wait for his sister-in-law. "He shouldn't let her control him like that," he said in response to Alithia's lifted eyebrow.

"Why shouldn't she control him? She's an alpha, and he's a beta," Alithia retorted, twirling in a little circle.

Sesshomaru frowned down at her. "How do you know that?" he asked.

Alithia's cheeks flushed becomingly. "I read. A lot," she said simply as she dropped her gaze to the ice. Sesshomaru nearly offered to show her his massive library, but stopped himself. There was no way she'd survive in his castle being meek as she was.

Kagome pushed through the tall bushes and hesitated. Ali was blushing as her brother-in-law stared down at her with an odd expression. She almost felt as if she'd interrupted an intimate moment between them.

"Kagome, you know that the only reason I'm not asking Lord Sesshomaru to take you home is because I know that the exercise is good for you," Ali scolded her distant ancestor gently in English as she put skate guards on her blades.

Kagome blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "I know, but he's driving me crazy!" she whined.

Ali walked off the ice and made Kagome sit down on a rock. "Where is Inuyasha?" she asked Kagome.

"I threatened to use the 's' word, if he didn't go with Miroku to slay a demon," the miko confessed, not looking at Sesshomaru. Ali giggled as she put a black kettle into the fire, her magic seeping into the pot. Kagome wasn't surprised when Sesshomaru sat down next to her after he noticed the magic. Five minutes later, Ali reached across the fire and handed Kagome a cup of magic-infused tea, the sleeve of her skating costume trailing into the flames. "Ali, you did it again," Kagome said, pointing to Ali's burning sleeve. Her friend glared at the flames until they sheepishly retreated to the fire where they belonged. It always freaked Kagome out when Ali did that. Shippo didn't have near that much control over his own fox fire.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously, as Alithia pulled the magic out of his cup of tea. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kagome put her hand on his arm and shook her head as she sipped at her own magically-enhanced tea. When Alithia handed him his cup, he saw a vivid white mark on her arm. Curiosity got the best of him, and he captured her wrist gently before she could sit back down. Kagome gasped and stood up abruptly. Sesshomaru ignored his sister-in-law and pushed the remains of Alithia's scorched sleeve up. The scar was worse than he'd thought— it ran from the heel of her hand to the inside of her elbow, and it ran parelel to a major vein. With a sickening lurch, he realized that it was a self-inflicted scar.

"You did this," he accused, shooting Alithia a dirty look. He didn't find suicide victims worthy of the tears that were shed for them; it was a despicable weakness. It also drove a wedge of fear into his heart for some reason that he didn't want to examine too closely.

"Yes. When I did that, I felt I had nothing left to live for and that I was unworthy of the life I'd led so far. It wasn't until later that I realized that the person I thought loved me was poisoning me." Alithia met his gaze evenly.

"Hnn," he grunted and released her wrist, looking away from her bewitching purple eyes. He watched her for the next twenty minutes through slitted eyes as she fed his sister-in-law magically-infused food even as she gave him food free of magic. He didn't eat it, because it smelled awful the way most human food did.

A few minutes later, Kagome yawned sleepily and stretched. "I better get back home before Inuyasha starts panicking," she said regretfully.

Sesshomaru stood up. "I will return with you. I wish to speak with Rin," he said and looked over at Ali.

"I'm gonna stay here and skate some more," she replied to the unasked question, pulling off her skate guards.

When Kagome and Sesshomaru had gone some distance from the pond the demon lord turned to his brother's wife. "Why did you drink that tea?" he asked.

"She doesn't know she's doing it. Ali has been doing that for nearly two months now— everything Rin and I eat is laced with her magic if she makes it. No one else gets the magic, not even her. I asked her once, and she just gave me a confused look." Sesshomaru snorted and resumed walking. "I'm glad she didn't hurt you just now, Sesshomaru nii-chan," Kagome added, biting back a giggle when he growled at the nickname.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Inuyasha grabbed her wrist the same way you just did about two weeks ago, and she accidently set him on fire before she had a panic attack," Kagome explained sadly as she remembered the utter terror on the young girl's face.

"Panic attack?" he asked, confusion filling his face.

"Ali doesn't like it when people touch her unexpectedly, especially if they've been yelling. She has flashbacks to one of the times she was beaten as a child and feels that helpless fear all over again. I think that's why she's closest to Rin. Rin understands what she went through better than anyone else." Kagome's fist clenched angrily. "You know, even after we calmed her down and everything, Ali still wouldn't tell us where she got the scar. I had my suspisions, but I couldn't accuse her of anything," Kagome said to her brother-in-law after she noticed the way his eyes had started to turn pink, which was a sign they would soon bleed red with demonic rage. "I think she just might trust you," she added when he turned away.

"… Hnn."

Sesshomaru considered Kagome's words and concluded that she was right; for some reason, Alithia had chosen to trust him. The fact that she'd told him she'd gone full-goddess a second time and had elected not to speak of the first time she'd done it with his brother confirmed it. "Have you any idea of who her Kami parent was?" he asked Kagome after several minutes.

Kagome shook her head. "No— until Myoga said differently, we assumed she was what my brother thought she was, part fox spirit. We don't even know the extent of her powers. The ones we've seen her use are pretty generic. Miroku, Kaede, and I all know she's used deeper abilities twice now— once about a week ago and once just before Rin's wedding. She hasn't said anything about it, though."

Sesshomaru wasn't surprised that they'd sensed Alithia's power. "She went full-goddess in much the same way my brother can go full-demon. It is… frightening. The one time I saw her do it, she killed a demon that was hurting a child. Considering the magic she used today, I believe her to be a goddess of children," he said.

After a moment's consideration, Kagome stopped and stared at him. "She scared YOU?" Disbelief laced her voice.

"Yes. When she is in full-goddess mode, she could kill me if she chose to purify my demon blood," he said. "Inuyasha needs to know as well. I do not think she is particularly dangerous unless there is a child in danger of losing its life, so be careful. She doesn't really remember what she does when she's like that." He paused to wait for Kagome to catch up with him.

"Kagome! There you are!" Inuyasha ran past him to Kagome, who smiled softly at her husband as he pulled her into his arms and sniffed her. Over her shoulder, he glared sullenly at his brother, who snorted.

Sesshomaru walked away from them and found Rin inside the old priestess's hut.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" She smiled happily and patted the ground next to her. He ignored the offer and stared at Kohaku. The young demon slayer grinned and put his arm around his wife. It was obvious that Sango's brother had to resist the urge to hide behind Rin because of Sesshomaru's intimidating glare.

"This Sesshomaru is pleased to see his Rin so happy," the demon lord said formally, his eyes warming as he looked at her. Rin giggled at his formal speech and blushed as she realized he knew that she was pregnant—not that she should be surprised he'd figured it out.

An hour later, Sesshomaru silently slid out of the hut and returned to Alithia's pond. If she trusted him, he might as well extract as much information from her as he could. The better he and Inuyasha's pack understood her, the better that they could protect Rin. Nothing was as important to him as protecting his pregnant ward.

Beta Comments: Just some formatting and a tad bit of spelling, other than that, great job improving the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Sesshomaru growled angrily and dragged his poison tipped claws against the holy barrier that was trapping him in ancient ruins. He staggered and dropped to one knee, panting heavily. He couldn't believe that he, the Lord of the Western Lands, had fallen for a trap. Yesterday, he'd heard the screams of a child. When he'd stopped to investigate, twenty priestesses had attacked him after dispelling the illusion of the injured child. He'd killed three of them before they managed to trap him— not that it made him any less furious. Taking Rin under his wing had made him soft and his… _preoccupation_ with the half-goddess had caused him to ignore his instincts.

_*Rin has Inuyasha and Kohaku to protect her now, and if they fail, I will simply kill them. I shall just tell her that I need to take care of my lands now and visiting will be hard. As for the goddess_—*

Agony shot up his vertebrae as the scroll attached to the base of his spine pulsed. He howled reflexively as that scroll triggered the other six scrolls attached to his body. He crumpled to the ground as the world spun away until it was smaller than that blasted flea demon that was supposed to be Inuyasha's servant.

* * *

><p><em>Two miles away<em>

Ali grunted as she hopped across the huge snow drifts in her fox form. She had been human when she first went for her walk, but had switched forms after the third time she fell down and had to dig her way out of one of the deep drifts. Working up a sweat was seriously not her idea of a relaxing walk, not to mention her fox form made it easy to hide from certain demon lords.

Sesshomaru's incubus nature aside, Ali really did like him. He was a good person despite his aloofness, and she often had the urge to tell him her darkest secrets. Like how she'd confessed to her suicide attempt— it wasn't something she talked about to anyone but the therapists she'd been forced to see afterwards. The urge to bare her soul to him was scary enough for her to avoid the demon lord, who had suddenly decided he had an interest in her. So Ali avoided Sesshomaru's golden gaze every chance she could without raising his suspicion; he'd returned four more times since the day she'd told him about Rin and Kagome three weeks ago.

_*Of course, as old as he is, I'm probably not fooling him,*_ she thought. _*And given the way he treats his most loyal servant, I don't dare just demand to know what the hell he wants with me all of the sudden. Though, if he's just looking to get some tail- I'll bitch slap him good. I'll die, but at least he'll get the message,*_ she thought sardonically as she ate some snow to slack her thirst. She was nearly ten miles from the village; it just wasn't homeand she didn't spend much of her time there.

"ARRRRUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!"

Ali dropped to the snow and flattened her ears against her skull as the pained scream echoed first in her head and then off every surface near her. Ali slunk across the snow until she found the old ruins, the howling grating across every one of her senses. She hesitated as she saw the entrance to a moss covered temple, freaked out by the way the ruins had no snow—it was as if they'd just appeared out of thin air.

/thumthum thumthum thumthum/

Ali stood upright as she heard the deep throbbing sound, her ears swiveling back and forth as she tried to pinpoint the source of the sound. It was familiar, and she gasped as she recognized Sesshomaru's heartbeat. Ali didn't even think before she charged across the shimmering barrier that surrounded the temple, yipping at the hit-your-funny-bone sensation that ran down her spine. Once inside the barrier, she nearly gagged on the scent of decaying corpses and saw at least fifteen bodies dressed in miko garb forming a circle.

Movement inside the circle caught her attention, and she whined as she saw the great demon lord writhing on the ground, his usually perfect hair covering his face. When a stream of flames set one of the undead miko on fire, Ali could see Sesshomaru more clearly.

"What have you done to my Lord, wench?"

Ali ignored Jaken and eyed the creepy priestesses that had trapped Sesshomaru, wondering if they'd notice if she crossed their circle. Ali decided to risk it and plunged across the circle, landing on the demon lord's chest. He'd stopped screaming and was now freakishly pale, even for him. She barked at him, growing alarmed when he didn't even twitch. Whining, she nudged his chin with her nose. He bared his fangs, letting her know that he was still alive. Ali pushed her front paws on his jaw, ignoring the weak growling issuing from his throat. She whined and nuzzled his neck as his heartbeat grew more ragged.

*_I have to get him out of here, now. He's dying, and so is that toad who is half in love with him. How do I get them out of here?_*

Ali gently nipped Sesshomaru's ear to see if that would get him moving, but all it did was make him jerk and growl deeper. She closed her eyes; she just knew this was going to hurt. Taking a deep breath, Ali imagined herself to be larger than the ruins. She panted as the pain raced through her limbs at the accelerated growth. She whined as the growth slowed just as she became the same size Sesshomaru was—but even after all that pain, Ali still wasn't big enough to carry him.

*_The energy— if I can use that—_* she thought dizzily as she eyed the priestesses' pink barrier. Opening her mouth, Ali sucked in energy until the barrier and the mikos vanished, and she'd reached her imagined size. Ali gently picked up the now-unconscious toad demon and placed him on top of Sesshomaru before picking up the demon lord and fleeing.

* * *

><p>Jaken woke up as a crackling sound filled his ears. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a fire burning merrily as it cast strange shadows on the cave walls. He gasped and sat up as he saw Sesshomaru slumped nakedly on his side, his hips covered with his yellow and blue obi. The half-goddess knelt next to his Lord dressed only in Sesshomaru's kosodo. "What in Kami's name are you doing, wench?" Jaken demanded and reached for the staff of two heads.<p>

"Looking for this?" The girl's silver and red eyes dared him to come over and take the staff out of her hands. "Stop shouting. You're making my ears hurt— which means his hurt twice as much. As to what I'm doing, I'm taking these freaking stickers off of him before they kill him," she said as she held up one of the sutras.

She let out a startled yelp as Sesshomaru grabbed her wrists and slammed her into the ground when she tried to remove a scroll from his back. Jaken smiled. Now he was sure that the stupid half-goddess would die. Instead, however, Sesshomaru nuzzled the girl's throat, his tongue tracing over her jugular. Jaken's nose began to bleed when he felt a perverse sense of arousal as Sesshomaru growled in approval and kissed the girl underneath him. He turned and faced the wall of the cave, stuffing his fingers into his ears to block out the sounds.

* * *

><p><em>Ten minutes earlier<em>

Ali didn't remember how they'd gotten into the cave. She remembered picking up Sesshomaru, but things got a bit hazy after that. She didn't even know how he had ended up naked, his clothes in a neat pile near him. Sighing, she pulled a scroll off of Sesshomaru's arm and set it aside, silently asking the energy that was left behind to adapt to his energy. The little toad demon woke up then and after a short argument with the annoying imp, Ali reached for the last spell scroll, which was applied to the demon lord's back. She yelped as her wrists where seized in an iron grip, and she was flipped over Sesshomaru's hip, the air escaping from her lungs with a _whoosh_ when she was slammed into the ground. Ali's lips parted in surprise as her eyes locked with the blue on red gaze of Sesshomaru's.

*_How freakishly pretty_,* she thought. Sesshomaru growled at her, his claws digging into her wrists until she felt blood trickling down her arm. Remembering every story she'd ever read about dominant feral creatures; Ali tilted her head to the side and lowered her lashes submissively. When the demon lord's tongue traced over the pulse point in her throat, she sucked in a stunned breath against the burning sensation that raced across her skin. Sesshomaru lifted his head to stare at her again, and Ali grew worried— Sesshomaru's face was changing, his canines more pronounced, and his skin was much more furry than usual. Sesshomaru let out a low growl and then kissed her.

One of his hands slid down from her wrist and captured her jaw to keep her from turning away from his plundering mouth. It wasn't like she really wanted to— it was the best damn kiss she'd ever had in her short seventeen years. Even at the height of sex with Eddie hadn't been this erotic. Ali knew she should stop him before he seduced her right in front of Jaken, but he tasted so good she couldn't stop. The hand that had previously held her jaw captive trailed down her throat to push aside the collar of his kosodo, which she'd been forced to wear after changing back into her human form.

Ali groaned into Sesshomaru's mouth as his claws dragged across the top of her breast, leaving her dizzy. It wasn't until his hips ground into hers that she realized the precariousness of her situation. Now would not be the best time to get pregnant, especially with a half-demon child. She didn't even know if she could get pregnant, considering she and Sesshomaru where polar opposites when it came to their magic. Ali pulled her mouth from his and tried to free one of her hands to push against his chest. Sesshomaru growled and was about to kiss her again when the scroll on his back electrocuted him. He howled and arched his back, his claws digging into her skin painfully. Sesshomaru's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed on top of Ali.

Ali grunted and tried to push the demon lord off of her. She wasn't successful, which didn't surprise her. The demon lord had to outweigh her by at least eighty pounds. "Jaken, a little help would be nice. He's crushing my ribs," she grunted, trying to find leverage to roll him.

The little toad demon scurried over and helped Ali push Sesshomaru off of her. Ali rubbed her aching wrists while Jaken re-covered Sesshomaru's hips. Ignoring Jaken, Ali pulled the last spell scroll off of Sesshomaru and tossed it in the flames. Black spots danced in her vision as she tried to tell the spell to change to his energy— she was exhausted, but didn't dare rest yet.

"Jaken he'll be fine. I don't think that they call him the Lord of the Western Lands as a nickname," Ali said, laying a shaky hand on the little toad's weeping head.

* * *

><p>Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open as a cold breeze ruffled his hair. "Jaken, stop hovering. If he wakes up and you're in his face, he might accidently kill you," he heard a familiar voice say. Sesshomaru tried to remember what had happened and tried to figure out what the weird taste in his mouth was. He jerked his head to the side when a cool, trembling hand was placed on his forehead.<p>

"Oh, good. You're awake." Alithia's purple eyes had streaks of silver, and the whites of her eyes were pink, despite the control over her magic she'd gained in the last few months, it was obvious that it wasn't perfect. Her eyes still held her full goddess essence.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up and brushing aside her hand. "And why am I naked?" he asked after a moment.

Alithia blushed deeply. "I found you in some weird temple and brought you here… Though, I'm not entirely certain where HERE is. I don't know how you got…"

Sesshomaru had never seen anyone literally turn red before— Alitha's , neck and face actually turned so red that it matched the red in his kosodo. "Might I have my clothes back?" he asked after several seconds of silence.

Alithia clutched the collar of his kosodo and inched away from him. "Uhh, yeah, of course. Just not this," she said, eyeing him nervously, looking as if she thought he'd take it from her.

"Lord Sesshomaru! This girl is responsible for nearly killing you, I just know it!" Jaken screeched. "She even tried to seduce you while you were wea—"

Sesshomaru bit back a grin as Alithia casually kicked Jaken to the far side of the cave. While she poked the fire with a stick, Sesshomaru pulled his hakama back on.

Ali hoped that Sesshomaru wouldn't kill her for kicking his servant, but she didn't want him to know about earlier. He apparently didn't remember anything, and she wanted it to stay that way as long as possible. "What did you give me to eat? I don't eat human food," the demon lord asked, making her jump as his warm breath brushed her ears. Ali prayed that she wasn't actually as red as she felt.

"I didn't make you eat anything," she said and eased around the fire.

"Then I must have eaten something when you weren't looking. I have the strangest taste in—" the demon lord paused abruptly as he took in her appearance and the blush that stained her skin. Sesshomaru wasn't entirely certain he wanted to know what had happened. His senses were not up to their usual strength, but he could smell lust. And blood.

_She even tried to seduce you_…

He carefully pulled his armor over his inner kosodo and slipped Tensaiga and Bakusaiga into place at his hip, his nose twitching as he tried to figure out exactly what had happened. Finally, he turned to Alithia and kept his features as neutral as possible. "Alithia, what happened to make you so embarrassed?" he said, stepping into her personal space so that she had to tilt her head backwards in order to meet his eyes. Sesshomaru had learned a long time ago that getting into the personal space of others was disconcerting, and most people tended to be truthful at those times. Alithia was no exception, for she swallowed air and nearly stepped away from him.

"You kissed me," she said after licking her lips.

Sesshomaru nearly laughed at such an absurd idea. She was half human, half goddess. There was no way he'd lower himself enough to do something like that with humans, whole or half. _*I'm not Father,*_ he thought derisively. "Is that all we did?" he asked lightly. If she was going to make up such ridiculous stories, he hoped that she at least made them good.

"Yes," she whispered, lowering her lashes and nearly turning purple.

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow. "Then why do I smell desire and blood? These are things usually associated with intimacy," he said, his chest clenching. Alithia was beautiful enough to remember kissing— which he didn't. It meant that either she was an extremely good liar or that his true demon nature had been present. If his demon self had Marked her, there would be trouble.

Ali concentrated on keeping her heart rate steady as Sesshomaru stood over her, not looking particularly pleased to have found out he'd kissed her. *_Ha, I've been kissed before. That wasn't kissing. That was... earth shattering,*_ she thought and felt something hot and twisty in her lower stomach.

"Alithia, were we _intimate_?" Sesshomaru's deep voice asked. Ali shook her head. "Have you never been kissed before? You act as if you haven't with that blush."

Ali cursed inwardly at the demon lord's persistence. "I've been kissed before! I've even been intimate with another man. I've just never been kissed like _that_. I was actually blushing over the, uh, the licking part," she responded honestly, her hand curling over the spot he'd licked and purred against.

Sesshomaru's jaw dropped of its own accord. He had LICKED her? It would certainly explain the strange taste in his mouth. "Explain what happened exactly," he ordered.

"I was trying to get one of these scrolls off your back." She held up a holy sutra to demonstrate. "And you must have woken up just a little. You pinned me to the ground and sniffed my neck, licked it, and then you kissed me. You passed out right after that because of the scroll," she said, arousal flooding off of her even as she tried to keep a reign on it.

He recalled her words about being intimate with another man and frowned. A simple kiss should mean nothing to her after such acts, unless the man she'd been with hadn't known what he was doing. "You liked it," he pointed out softly, tilting her chin up. She nodded slowly as her face flushed even more. "What about this man you were with? Did he never kiss you?" he prodded.

Alithia shook her head. "Not like _that_," she said.

"Alithia, did I look strange?"

Alithia chewed her lip, her eyebrows furrowing. "I think you were starting to change into your demon form— your eyes were blue on red, and your fangs were pretty long," she said, brushing a strand of hair out her eyes. Sesshomaru gently captured her wrist when he saw bloody smears on it; his fingers traced over the distinct impressions of his hands and claws. Until that moment, he hadn't really believed her— she was a fox after all, and they were famous for their lying abilities.

Ali concentrated on controlling her breathing as the demon lord's fingers gently traced over the fingerprints he'd left behind earlier. "I hurt you. Why are you not afraid?" Sesshomaru asked.

Ali pulled her hand away from his and turned around before he saw the claw marks on her collar bone. "It didn't hurt," she said, cursing her need to be completely honest with him and the wave of pleasure that soared through her body at the memory of his touch.

"Hnn," was Sesshomaru's reply.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I apologize for kicking Jaken earlier," Ali said after a moment of awkward silence.

"He deserved it," Sesshomaru said carelessly. Ali let a tiny giggle escape her lips and knelt next to the fire to burn the remaining holy sutras. "Alithia, why are you wearing my clothes?" Sesshomaru asked a few minutes later as Jaken woke up and skittered to his side, out of Ali's kicking range.

Ali blushed. "When I shift from my fox form, I'm naked. I usually make sure to keep something to change into nearby, but I have no idea where we are. I was about fifteen feet tall, so I don't know how far from the freaky temple I got before I turned human again. I woke up here with both of us naked and borrowed this," she explained.

The demon lord turned to Jaken. "Find a way out of this cave," he ordered. Jaken scurried to do as he bid."Alithia, come here so I can check those wounds again. I may have poisoned you," Sesshomaru stated, not liking the paleness of her skin now that she was no longer blushing. A thud made him turn around as he drew Bakusaiga. Sesshomaru swore when he saw Alithia crumpled on the ground, her arm draped across the fire. He knelt next to her and pulled her away from the fire, shaking his head. *_Stupid girl. She shouldn't have expended so much magic_,* he thought and tried to ignore the long slender legs that emerged from the short skirt of his kosodo.

"Master Sesshomaru, I have found the way out!" Jaken's shrill voice grated Sesshomaru's nerves.

"Put out the fire, then," he said as he gathered Alithia's slender form in his arms. Once they were out of the cave, he realized that they were not far from his castle grounds. With an exhausted sigh, he took Alithia to his private chambers and placed her in the huge bed meant for him to share with his mate someday.

Seeing Alithia lying against the wine colored satin pillows twisted Sesshomaru's heart in a strange way— it was almost as if the bed had been made for her. Dismissing such a ridiculous thought even as he stroked her sand-colored hair out of her face, Sesshomaru became aware of how tired he was. Wearily, he moved to the smaller chamber that his father had used until he'd met that blasted Izayoi.

He groaned inwardly as he saw Hanako, one of his concubines — the only dog demon of the bunch— kneeling next to the bed. If Jaken didn't stop arranging for one of his concubines to be waiting for him every time he returned to the castle, the imp would be killed. He was glad it was her above anyone else, but right now, he was too damn tired to deal with anything.

"Sesshy, what happened to you and why do you smell so strange?"

Sesshomaru growled lowly at her for the nickname and sat on the edge of the bed. Hanako smiled at him and began pulling off his armor. This was why he liked Hanako more than the others; she understood his needs without him saying anything. "After you take care of me, see to the lady in the other room," he said gruffly. "She is to be treated with the same respect as you would give me or my mother, and if I find out she was treated otherwise by anyone, that person will die," Sesshomaru added.

Hanako nodded once as she pulled off his boots. "I'll look after her personally, Sesshy," Hanako promised as he curled on his side under the blankets, shooting her another dirty look. He wanted to tell her that the only reason she got away with the nickname was because she'd been a loyal servant for three hundred years, but the exhaustion overtook him.

* * *

><p>Hanako brushed aside Sesshomaru's hair tenderly after he fell asleep and sighed. Weak as he was at the moment, she had no doubt that Lady Choutsuki would be here soon. Once she was sure that Sesshomaru was sleeping, Hanako rose and went into the long corridor.<p>

"Reiko, go put fresh lilacs in Lady Choutsuki's chambers and make sure it's clean," she ordered a passing servant and then returned to the master chamber. Hanako was stunned when she saw the half-human. Other than little Rin, Sesshomaru had never associated with humans. Hanako shook her head and checked the young creature over— she wasn't a half-demon, which surprised her even more.

After tending the girl's wounds, Hanako waited for two days before Sesshomaru woke up.

"Don't allow her to leave my chambers until I return. I do not wish for there to be a misunderstanding— she is a half-goddess, and the others may think she is attacking the castle. She may go into the gardens if she wishes, but not far," Sesshomaru ordered as he dressed.

Hanako bowed. "Sesshy, what is she to wear? She can't go around in that kosodo of yours, it's entirely too short for decency, and the blood stains would freak out any of the servants who happened to be nearby," she pointed out.

Sesshomaru shot her an annoyed look for the nickname. "Give her my blue and white kimono or the black one. They should fit her," he said. "Her name is Alithia," he added and then left the chambers.

* * *

><p>Ali rubbed her cheek against the satiny pillow and yawned sleepily. She'd never been so comfortable in her life, so she snuggled deeper into the cool sheets and tried to go back to sleep. It suddenly registered that she didn't have satin sheets on the futon she used in Kaede's cabin. Ali shot upright and regretted it as her head spun.<p>

"Lady Alithia, would you like something to eat?" a soft voice asked her. Ali turned her head to find a beautiful woman with sky blue eyes and black hair.

"Um, where am I?" she asked.

The woman smiled. "You are in Sesshy's— I mean, Lord Sesshomaru's private chambers. He left yesterday and asked that you stay in these rooms until he returns," the woman explained cheerfully.

"I'm in his home?" Ali was shocked beyond words; she'd rather expected to wake up in Kaede's hut, not in a freakin' castle. She could tell it was a castle by the way the whole room was the size of Kaede and Inuyasha's huts combined.

"Yes. Sesshy brought you here to heal. Do you mind telling me what happened while you eat?" the woman asked.

Ali leaned back against the pillows and sighed. "I have no idea why he brought me here. I only helped him a little," she said. "Who are you?" Ali changed the subject before the woman could ask what she'd done for Sesshomaru.

"I am Hanako, one of Sesshomaru's concubines and a servant. I'll make sure you get whatever you need, Lady Alithia." The woman bowed to Ali after handing her a tray, making Ali blush.

"Oh, don't call me _Lady _Alithia! I'm just Ali, and you don't need to bow to me." Ali made a face and giggled. Ten minutes later, she sighed and pushed aside the tray. "Thank you, Lady Hanako. Is it possible to take a bath and change without making Lord Sesshomaru angry?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at how dirty she felt.

"Don't address me as a lady, please. I'm not a lady, just a concubine. And yes, Sesshomaru does have a bath in his rooms."

Ali's felt her face light up at the prospect of a real bath.

* * *

><p><em>The next afternoon<em>

Choutsuki narrowed her eyes as Sesshomaru's servants greeted her without their usual scrambling fear. *_I'm expected. My son, what have you gotten yourself into this time?_* she wondered, frowning when she couldn't sense his demonic aura in the castle. After she'd changed into a clean kimono, Choutsuki sent for Hanako, who would know what had happened to her son.

"Lady Choutsuki, welcome. I hope everything has matched your expectations," the concubine said as she bowed lowly.

"What has happened to my son?" Choutsuki demanded, ignoring the woman's polite greeting.

"I do not really know, Lady. Sesshomaru returned to the castle six days ago in a weakened state. He brought a half-goddess with him who only said she'd helped him out of a difficult situation. Lord Sesshomaru left three days ago, but I do not know where he went."

Choutsuki lifted an elegant eyebrow. "A half-goddess? Where in the world did my son come across one of those?" she asked. Hanako shook her head to indicate she had no idea. "Hmm. Well, let us see this creature. Take me to her," she ordered the servant.

Choutsuki tapped her fan against her lips as she watched the half-goddess who sat in Sesshomaru's favorite chair reading what looked to be Sesshomaru's favorite book. Despite her pale features, the creature was strikingly beautiful— she had long, sand-colored hair that was twisted into a simple braid down her back and streaked with pink and purple _*though her hair does smell terrible*_, Choutsuki thought privately. her lips red from where she chewed them as she read. Peeking out of her hair were long, slender white ears tipped in gold, which were flickering as the girl listened for danger. Choutsuki took half a step backwards as the half-goddess's ears snapped in her direction, and she lifted her head. When Choutsuki saw the amethyst purple eyes, her jaw dropped behind her fan. It was no wonder Sesshomaru had been drawn to this creature— she was fascinating just to look at.

"What happened with my son?" she asked as she emerged from the shadows.


	4. Chapter 4

Ali had been reading a book about a samurai warrior when she heard a new heartbeat in the room with her. She lifted her head from the book and looked in the direction of the person, her eyes widening as she saw a female version of Sesshomaru. The woman had only one curvy magenta stripe on her cheeks compared to the two slender ones Sesshomaru possessed.

"I helped him out of a difficult situation, Lady. I am not certain Lord Sesshomaru wishes to be discussed without his knowledge," Ali said in reply to the question asked of her. She stood and bowed to the woman who was obviously Sesshomaru's mother. She hoped it was the proper bow-Kagome had been teaching her how to greet her superiors, but the beautiful woman in front of her left her a bit flustered and unsure if she was being polite enough.

"Child, what sort of goddess are you?" the woman asked, using her fan to tilt Ali's chin up.

"I do not know, but Lord Sesshomaru believes me to be a goddess of children. I only became aware of my powers a few months ago," she said, meeting the golden gaze of the woman before her, who possessed the same freakish beauty that Sesshomaru had, leaving Ali to assume she was a succubus.

"Come, child. I wish to speak with you more." The lady led the way out of the small study and turned when she realized Ali had paused in the doorway.

"Lord Sesshomaru asked that I remain in these rooms, Lady," Ali said with an apologetic bow.

"You are perfectly safe with me, dear. Now, first of all— what is your name?"

Choutsuki already liked Sesshomaru's new concubine despite her half-goddess status. The first time the girl had bowed, she'd seen the half-claim mark on her neck that Sesshomaru always used on his concubines. However, Choutsuki didn't smell her son's scent on the girl's skin. The placement of the half-claim was unusual as well— he usually marked his women on the hand or wrist, never the neck. *_Too much like a true marking,_*she supposed.

"My name is Ali, Lady."

Choutsuki thought it was a very strange name but didn't comment for the moment. "What do you think of my son's home, Ali?" She didn't expect the wave of pleasure and happiness that radiated from the girl.

"The parts I've seen are very beautiful," the girl answered.

"You don't have any ambition to make Sesshomaru marry you, do you, Ali? It would be extremely stupid of you if you did— Sesshomaru would never marry a concubine, and he cannot stand being deceived," Choutsuki said casually. She turned at the outraged sound that issued from the younger girl's throat. She hid a grin behind her fan as Ali adopted an expression she must have gotten from Sesshomaru. It was a look that promised certain death.

"I am not a concubine. I live in Inuyasha's village and am uncertain as to why he brought me here. If he has told you otherwise—"

Choutsuki did giggle at the look that promised death to Sesshomaru. "If you are not his newest concubine, then why are you wearing one of his old kimonos that he was saving for his son? When he has one, that is."

Ali looked down in surprise at the simple white kimono that bore blue starbursts. "I have no idea. I wasn't awake when he left," she said honestly.

Sesshomaru's mother smiled at her and reached out to cup her cheek. Ali flinched instinctively and blanched.

"Are you alright, Ali?" the woman questioned as she dropped her hand.

"Yes, I'm just tired." Ali smiled softly and tried to calm her racing heart. She must be more tired than she'd originally thought. She could usually suppress her jumpiness when it came to interacting with people.

After they'd had tea, Sesshomaru's mother left to see if she could find him, and Ali returned to bed. Ali was sitting in the garden the next afternoon enjoying the sunshine when she saw a large white dog land and transform into Sesshomaru's mother. Ali began to wonder if she was insane for thinking that Sesshomaru was an incubus.

* * *

><p>Choutsuki hummed to herself as she waited for her son to return, her fingers trailing over his huge collection of books.<p>

"Lady Choutsuki, there is something you should know." Hanako bowed to her.

"Has my son returned yet?" she asked.

Hanako shook her head. "Last evening, I was helping Ali wash her hair when I saw her back. It held evidence of enslavement. I asked her about it, and she changed the subject. Perhaps you will have better luck finding out what happened to her," Hanako reported.

Choutsuki frowned and went in search of the young girl that seemed so happy in her son's home. "Ali, would you join me in the hot springs?" she asked the girl. Ali smiled at her and nodded. Once they had been soaking for a while Choutsuki grasped Ali's chin, frowning at the flinch. "Child, did you run away from someone? I am obligated to return you to your master, though I do not wish to."

Ali shook her head silently and tried to pull free from her hand. "My… situation is unique, and I can't explain it to you. I can assure you that I am not a slave," she promised, her fist clenching under the water.

Choutsuki noticed the crescent-shaped mark on her temple for the first time and stroked it. the scar held Sesshomaru's essence, leading her to believe that he'd healed the half-goddess at some point in the recent past. "Can you tell me how you got this?" she asked.

"That is from the demon I killed a few months ago. I don't remember what happened, but Lord Sesshomaru was there," Ali said softly.

Choutsuki lifted an eyebrow and turned the girl around. Because they had been in the hot spring for nearly half an hour, both Choutsuki and Ali's skin was flushed red— except for the blazing white scars that marred Ali's back. Choutsuki had to bite her lip to keep from growling at them, rage filling her heart at the man who'd done this to a goddess. "Why did you not leave him, little one?" she asked softly.

Ali turned around with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't. I was only a child when I received most of those scars. I was afraid and didn't know what to do," she explained and began to weep. Choutsuki pulled the girl into her arms and stroked her hair.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Four days earlier, the ruins…<strong>_

Sesshomaru glared at the strange building that had nearly cost him his life. How he'd been trapped in such a place was beyond him. There was hardly any holy power here now. He shook his head and headed toward his brother's home, pausing when he stepped into a deep impression in the snow. When Sesshomaru knelt and placed his hand on the huge paw print, everything came rushing back to him.

~_**A white fox sitting on his chest, nudging him as tears fell from purple eyes.**_ _**Falling, falling into blackness. Warmth near his back. Jaken's shrill voice. The smell of peach blossoms and that strange thing Rin always got from the miko— chocolate. The salty taste of sweat. The sweet taste of desire. The sensation of perfection beneath him. Purple eyes. Always, always the purple eyes**_.

Sesshomaru stood up and panted. He now understood why Alithia had blushed so deeply— he'd almost seduced her. Ignoring the memories, he made his way to Inuyasha's home.

"What the hell are you doing here, bastard?"

Sesshomaru snorted at his brother's aggressive tone. "I am here for some of Alithia's things," he said with closed eyes. "Have the old miko bring her things here," he added.

"Where the hell is Ali? We haven't been able to find her for a week now!" his brother snarled.

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow. By his count, he'd been attacked three days ago. "I took her to my castle three days ago after she helped me with something. She is going to remain there until I deem it safe for her to be around Rin again," he said, flicking his eyes to the horizon.

"Sesshomaru nii-chan!"

Sesshomaru inwardly rolled his eyes at Kagome's cheerful greeting. He knew she respected his power, but did she have to address him with 'chan'? "Is Ali okay? I felt her near your aura a few days ago," she asked, her smile disappearing as she thought of her friend.

"Alithia is fine," he responded and gave his brother a pointed look.

"Here ye are, Sesshomaru." The old woman hobbled up to him and held up a bright yellow satchel stained with brown spots. "Tell the child to be more careful," she added. Sesshomaru gave her hand a gentle squeeze as she passed him the bag, making sure his brother didn't see the gesture.

* * *

><p>He returned to his castle five days later after checking his borders. Hanako greeted him as he entered his rooms.<p>

"Your mother is here," she warned.

Sesshomaru scowled. He was not really in the mood to deal with his mother at the moment. "How long does she plan to stay?" he asked, stripping off his clothes.

"I don't know. She seems to like the girl you brought home," Hanako said as she followed him to the bathroom. Sesshomaru felt an odd sense of doom as he bathed, which confused him. Why should it matter that his mother liked a half-goddess? Returning to his room, he gave the large yellow pack a dirty look and decided it must be returned to its proper owner before its scent drove him mad.

* * *

><p>Ali took a deep breath and touched a rose branch that was covered in snow. Sesshomaru's garden was beautiful in the winter, so she could only imagine what it looked like in the summer when everything was in full bloom. She sighed. It was odd— she'd been in feudal Japan for eight months now and had been homesick every moment; the exception being when she skated on her pond. But four days in this place, and it was home in a way no other place on earth was. She shook off the feeling and sat on a bench. A few of Sesshomaru's servants had made it perfectly clear that he hated humans with the exception of Rin and that he hated half-breeds even more. Ali wondered what it was that made him save her so many times. She was worse than a half-demon; she was a half-goddess.<p>

"This Sesshomaru believes he left instructions for you to remain in his chambers," a deep voice startled Ali out of her thoughts.

She stood and bowed to Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru. Welcome back," she said to his feet. "I thought it would be okay to leave the rooms with your mother. She just went back inside for something a moment ago," she explained as she looked up at him.

Sesshomaru had been watching Alithia for several minutes, thankful that she seemed to be doing much better. When he'd realized the direction of his thoughts, he'd scowled and forced himself to scold the half-goddess, thrown when only Alithia smiled at him and explained why she was breaking the rules he'd clearly lain out instead of backing down.

"Besides, you can't boss me around like I'm one of your servants, Lord Sesshomaru," she added, the last part with blazing eyes daring him to try and treat her like a servant.

A small smile escaped from his lips at her expression. Despite the fact that she had no idea of how her half-goddess powers worked, she still looked at him as if she thought she could beat him in a fight. It was ridiculous really, but amusing— and Alithia looked rather cute with that expression. He shook off this train of thought and handed Alithia the blood-stained pack. "You do not seem to like it in my brother's village, so I brought you some things. You will— I would prefer it if you stayed in my home until you have completely recovered. I will not risk Rin getting hurt," Sesshomaru said brusquely in response to Alithia's questioning look as she took the pack.

Alithia smiled at him gently. "For someone who claims to hate humans, you're awfully protective of Rin," she observed.

Sesshomaru shrugged. "I do not hate humans; I merely find them to be greedy, weak, and overly ambitious," he said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You might as well get used to them. In my time, there's something like seven billion of them. And humans aren't all bad— we have a great capacity to love and to create. I mean, some of the music humans will write in the next five hundred years is amazing," Ali stated as she hugged her pack close to her chest.

"Hnn," Sesshomaru responded.

Sensing she was annoyed him, Ali asked the question that had been bugging her for the last several days. "Was your father an incubus?" she asked.

Sesshomaru stared at her in confusion for a full moment. "Why would you ask—" He suddenly seemed to follow her train of thought for he let out a bark of laughter. When she blushed, he lost it.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile<em>

Choutsuki hadn't really left the half-goddess alone; she didn't trust any of her son's concubines. With the exception of Hanako, they'd all been whispering about the girl and had been shooting her dirty looks. Choutsuki had moved to a spot where Sesshomaru wouldn't pick up her scent and had observed with growing interest at the gentleness in which her son treated the half-goddess. Because she was far enough away that Sesshomaru couldn't sense her, she couldn't hear their conversation. Needless to say, when Sesshomaru started laughing, Choutsuki couldn't have been more stunned. Sesshomaru hadn't laughed since he was a very young child. She'd seen him smile indulgently at his human pet, but never had she seen him laugh so hard he had to clutch his aching ribs. It seemed almost… _human_ of him.

* * *

><p><em>Under the tree<em>

Ali knew her face could practically start a fire with how red it was. She shot the demon lord a dirty look and turned her head to the side. "It's not THAT funny," she muttered. He only laughed harder. Ali didn't see what was so hilarious; it was a reasonable question after all. She scowled at Sesshomaru and realized he was standing directly under a snow covered branch as he leaned against the tree clutching his sides. "You can stop laughing now," she snapped, giving him a chance to redeem himself. Sesshomaru only shook his head. Biting back an evil smile, Ali summoned just enough fox fire to melt some of the ice on the branch.

Sesshomaru didn't know what was wrong with him. He couldn't stop laughing at the half-goddess's expression. In his seven hundred years of life, he'd been called many things: monster, bastard, and freak among them. Never had he been called _pretty-_Alithia's assumption that he was an incubus told him she found him to be very pretty.. Had anyone else even implied such a thing, he'd probably kill them. But Alithia's assumption was strangely amusing, ridiculous as it was. It certainly explained how he would often sense that she was attracted to him in fleeting bursts. Sesshomaru abruptly stopped laughing as a large snow drift fell on his head and slid down the back of his kimono. He narrowed his eyes at Alithia, who stared at him with an expression that was entirely too innocent.

"Are you alright, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked politely.

"Why did you do that? Don't even try to deny it— I felt you using magic," he replied.

Alithia's chin tilted up defiantly. "You should have stopped laughing at me when I told you to," she said. He flicked the snow from his chest onto her and smirked when she squealed. Just as she was going to retaliate, his mother appeared.

"Sesshomaru, don't you love your mother? Why didn't you come find me immediately and say hello?" Choutsuki hid a smile behind her fan as her son made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.

"Hello, mother. What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

"I sensed that you were in pain and came to make sure you were alright," she said honestly, placing a hand on his arm.

"I'm fine. How long do you plan to stay this time? You aren't going to do something… distasteful, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

Choutsuki pretended to be hurt by his suspicion. "What do you mean by distasteful?" she said in reply, allowing a tear to slide dramatically down her cheek.

Sesshomaru snorted. "I mean, you aren't going to hold one of those dinner parties that seem to consist mainly of young, unmarried demonesses and their overbearing mothers," he said bluntly.

Choutsuki blinked innocently at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said. Her son snorted once again. A sudden giggle made both Sesshomaru and Choutsuki turn their heads. They'd forgotten about Ali, who grinned widely at them.

"What are you laughing at?" Sesshomaru glared at the half-goddess, who only smiled.

"The two of you are very close; I can tell. I'm glad that you have someone like that," she said.

Sesshomaru snorted at the half-goddess's rather silly interpretation of his conversation with his mother. And why exactly was she so happy that he had to deal with his mother? The half-goddess gave him a maddeningly knowing grin and bowed.

"Thank you for bringing me my things, Lord Sesshomaru. I really appreciate it," she said hastily when he scowled at her.

Sesshomaru ignored his mother and nodded gruffly to Alithia before walking out of the garden. Now that he'd been talking to her for some time, he realized that her scent had been bothering him. She smelled pleased to be here in his castle, as if it were her home.

"She has no plans to try and seduce you."

Sesshomaru lifted one of his eyebrows at his mother.

"I see you realized how happy she is here. She was rather offended when I made a remark about concubines knowing their place. I wonder, how much time have you spent with her? The expression on her face when she denied it rather resembled the look on your face now," his mother said with a giggle.

Sesshomaru had no reply to that.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Choutsuki frowned and tapped her fan against her hand in concern. She had not seen Alithia since she'd left the young girl in the garden and darkness had fallen two hours ago. "Sesshomaru, whatever have you done with your young friend?" she asked her son, smiling to hide her concern after she found him in his private study.<p>

"I have done noth—" He cut himself off with an exasperated sigh and headed outside without finishing his sentence.

Choutsuki followed curiously, gasping when she saw Ali floating across the ice gracefully, twisting her body into odd shapes. For the next four minutes, Choutsuki held her breath as Ali danced out a sad story to strange music. She finally seemed to notice them and glided over, her long white ears drooping as she caught the expression on Sesshomaru's face.

"This Sesshomaru is very angry. He did not give you permission to be here."

Ali felt her head snap up as Sesshomaru's words entered her brain. "I'm sorry, but I got excited after I found my skates. Why do you speak in the third person anyway?" she responded, shivering in the night air.

"It is merely the way all nobles usually speak. I do it when I'm annoyed, as I am now. I did not give those orders to you lightly, Alithia. There are many demons in my home that would gladly consume a goddess's energy. You WILL listen to me in the future."

Ali felt something twist in her chest. It had been years since someone had cared about her, never mind that he hid his concern behind annoyance with her. He cared. She still didn't know how her great-grandfather felt about her- he could have saved her out of mere obligation. Ali dropped her head again and whispered an apology to him. Sesshomaru huffed at her and dropped a blanket she hadn't noticed him carrying around her shoulders.

"It is late— you should return inside where it is warm. Alithia, where are your shoes?" he asked, scanning the area for them.

Ali blushed and shrugged. "Um, I didn't bring them with me. I came here barefoot," she admitted, blushing when Sesshomaru shook his head at her, a wry smile on his lips.

* * *

><p>Choutsuki slowly backed away from her son and the young goddess, her eyebrow lifted. They had ceased to notice her sometime ago, falling into some world that only they occupied.<p>

"I didn't mean for her to hurt so much before she met him."

Choutsuki turned and blinked as she saw a woman not much older than Ali standing next to her. "Oh?" Choutsuki asked, curious now. Ali and Sesshomaru seemed to be completely unaware of them.

"I'm her mother. Or I will be—you know, in the future when it's our time. Unfortunately, a very shrewd demon is able to kill me when she's too young to lose me. As I am now, I cannot interact with her without destroying her timeline and possibly his." The goddess stroked the small fox spirit on her shoulder sadly.

"But hasn't time been contaminated already by Inuyasha's wife?" Choutsuki asked.

The goddess shook her head. "Neither Kagome or Alithia see time as linear. This protects them from contaminating the timelines, despite the things they bring from the future. But I cannot save my own child from suffering for the very same reason. I am also outside the influence of time, so I can affect them." The goddess swallowed hard and pointed to both women's children, who continued to talk not far away, not noticing the conversation between the demon lord's mother and the cloaked goddess. "There is a reason she came to this time, this place."

Choutsuki gasped in shock as she saw the red thread that was tied to her son's smallest finger, connecting him to Ali.

"The red thread of fate is rare, and can be tangled, stretched and knotted beyond all hope. However, it cannot be broken and knows no bounds, not even time. That is why she is outside the influence of time. She is fated to be his lover, just as Kagome was fated to love Inuyasha, and I to love Alithia's father. I would refrain from telling them, though. Our children are stubborn and will fight this connection. They have a hard enough time ahead of them without them fighting this too," the goddess said with a dry smile.

Choutsuki smiled at her faintly. "And what of the fact my son is a demon and despises humans—half-humans even more?" she asked archly.

The goddess smiled softly. "It was not a coincidence that your son met young Rin when he did," she said mysteriously. "I must go now— she's beginning to notice me. Watch over her for me, won't you?"

Choutsuki nodded slowly as the Goddess faded away, a tear sliding down her cheek.

* * *

><p>Thanks soo soo much to my beta readers, <strong>L.M. Avalon<strong> and **Seranova**


	5. Chapter 5

AN-*cautiously pokes head into site* I have taken absolutely forever to update this... but I was busy looking for work(still havn't found a job) and finishing up my semester. anyway, here is a new chappy, so enjoy. If you've come here cause I updated, then i sugest you go back and reread... I took WillowStryker's advice about sperating my paragraphs a step further... I got Beta-Readers! *throws confetti* they've really helped me.  
>thanks sooo soo much <strong>L.M Avalon<strong> and **Seranova**!

* * *

><p><em>One month later<em>

Ali sighed in exhaustion and wearily dipped her bloody hands into the icy cold river, shivering and nearly toppling into it. Suddenly, the world was spinning as she was lifted off her feet, her wrists seized in an iron grip.

"Where is she? Where is Rin?" Sesshomaru snarled, shaking Ali so hard her teeth clacked together.

Ali tried not to panic as Sesshomaru shook her harder. "Oww," she said, trying to pull away from him.

"ANSWER ME!" Sesshomaru's eyes turned red and his voice grew deeper.

"I can't… you're hurting me," she gasped out, her heart pounding in terror. The grip on her wrists loosened, and she was dropped to the ground. "Rin is sleeping, hopefully. Her baby was early, and it was hard on her. She bled quite a bit, but she should be fine now. The baby is fine, too, if a bit small," Ali explained. "Go see her for yourself, Maru," she added as she began to realize that she couldn't stop the panic attack overcoming her. It wasn't something she wanted him to see, and she tried to get away from the demon lord but failed.

Sesshomaru felt his heart leave his throat and return to its proper place in his chest. When he'd smelled Rin's blood, he'd thought that he'd failed to protect her. Again. He let go of Alithia abruptly, staring in shock as the half goddess collapsed into a fetal position on the ground, whimpering and struggling to breathe. Without even thinking about it, he shed his armor and pulled Alithia into his arms, cradling her against his chest. She fought his touch until he began to growl in his chest, the vibrations soothing her a little. It wasn't enough to completely calm her, though, for she spent the next half hour huddled in his arms, whimpering.

* * *

><p>Ali slowly blinked into awareness, frowning at the crackling fire. *<em>Great, it was one of the bad ones<em>,* she thought with a groan. She pushed herself off the ground and swayed, clutching at the hand Sesshomaru offered to her.

"What in the world was that?" he asked her as he squeezed her hand.

She sighed deeply, knowing that he wasn't going to let it go. "You scared me when you shook me like that. It's something one of my foster fathers used to do." She shivered, dropping her eyes to the ground.

"Foster fathers?" the demon lord questioned.

"Yes. Where I'm from, after a child loses their parents, they are given to a family who wants a child but is unable to have them. Sometimes, things happen and that child has be taken from the family and given to a different one, with the hope that someday a family will love that child enough to adopt them as their own," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I wasn't one of the lucky ones— I might have been eventually, but I ran away with my boyfriend when I was thirteen. That didn't turn out so amazing for me either." Sesshomaru had tilted her head up, because she was speaking so softly, and now she couldn't stop the verbal vomit.

Sesshomaru stared down at the half-goddess as she began speaking of her past, making him hate humans more than ever. Demons were harsh with their children, but they did not do the things humans did— they did not beat them senseless on a daily basis for no reason, nor did they starve them.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm fine. I did survive," the goddess said, her fingertips brushing the stripes on his cheek.

"How can you say that? Mother told me about your back, and I've seen for myself how frightened you are of being touched," he growled out, leaning into her touch.

"I'm afraid of angry people, not of being touched. You're touching me right now, you know," she pointed out, glancing down at their intertwined fingers. Sesshomaru released her hand as if he were touching hot coals, facing away from her.

"Why was Rin's baby early?" he asked, very uncomfortable with the intimacy they'd been sharing.

Ali fiddled with the long strands of her hair and shrugged at Sesshomaru's question. "I don't know. It happens with humans sometimes, and it very often kills the woman and the baby— at least, in this time period it does," she said.

"And why didn't Rin die?" the demon lord asked, facing her again.

"She was very, very lucky, I suppose. Kaede knew what she was doing, for one thing."

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow at her. "And you didn't use your magic at all?" he asked.

Ali blinked in surprise. "I guess I did. I didn't even think about it, actually," she admitted sheepishly.

Sesshomaru snorted in disbelief. Really, she was very odd. One minute, she was unintentionally using her magic to save people, the next she was so terrified she could hardly breathe. Why she even bothered to save them was beyond him, given the way they'd treated her most of her life. He didn't understand how she could refrain from wiping out the entire species. "How can you continually protect humans?" he asked her, his expression carefully blank.

Alithia shrugged. "Because they have the potential to be amazing, and I believe everyone deserves the chance to prove it. I admit, there are those who the world would be better off without, but it's not my place to judge them," she said, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"You are a goddess— of course it's your place to judge them. Why don't you wipe them out entirely?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes, so she couldn't evade the question.

Ali lifted an eyebrow at the demon lord. "Well, for one thing, that would mean killing Rin," she pointed out, biting back a grin at the way he growled. "Besides, if I wipe out humanity at this point, I wouldn't exist any longer— I am half human after all. It would also mean killing children, which I refuse to do," she said, lifting her chin. They gazed at each other silently for a long time before she broke eye contact with him to stare into the fire.

"You are very strange, Alithia."

Ali looked up to question Sesshomaru only to find he'd vanished. *_Look who's talking_,* she thought with a snort.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eight days later…<strong>_

Ali quietly followed behind Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango as they bickered about the method in which they were going to get paid for slaying a demon that was terrorizing a nearby village. She was feeling distracted. It was as if someone was calling her, only they were so far away that their voice was less than a whisper.

She shrugged off the strange feeling and admired her new weapon, a scythe that was taller than she was. Kagome had joked that it made her look like a grim reaper, which only made Ali grin. Despite its estimated six foot height, Ali had no trouble wielding it. She had found it at the bottom of her skating pond when swimming a few days ago, and she really liked it. Right now, it looked like an elaborate walking staff with carvings of animals and various grains on it— which she found a bit odd— and it was black with a wicked looking blade that jutted out of its center when she pressed a certain part of the staff.

The blade itself was silver, curving viciously like a claw. It was a long blade, too, nearly the length of her whole arm. All in all, it was a good weapon. She'd also started carrying a bull whip, though she didn't use it much for fear of snapping herself in the face with it. Inuyasha had made her begin carrying it as a backup weapon.

Ali scowled down at her weapons in annoyance. At five feet and half an inch tall, nearly every other weapon she'd come across was too awkward to manage. The scythe though, was like an extension of her arm and easy to wield. The whip wasn't quite as easy to manage, but far better than her attempts to wield a sword. She was distracted from her musings by the sound of people screaming, and she could just make out the metallic smell of blood.

From the abrupt way Inuyasha stopped talking and raised his hand to cover his nose with the sleeve of his kosodo, it was obvious that he'd at least smelt the blood.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned.

"Damn this demon stinks," Inuyasha growled out. Forgetting all arguments now, the group ran the rest of the way to the village and found a very gruesome sight. Ali felt her stomach roll as her nose took in the smell of blood, fear, and sex— a lot of the last one.

"HALT!" a voice commanded the group with a deep slur. "Hand over the women and move on if you don't wish to die. This village and all who pass through it now belong to Lord Marutsuki for killing that demon over there," the drunken samurai said from atop his horse.

"Feh, as if I'd do something like that. Where are all the men from this village?" Inuyasha demanded, his arms folded across his chest.

The man grinned, winking at an increasingly infuriated Ali. "Right over there— they thought they could keep the women hidden from My Lordship," he said, gesturing carelessly. A pile of bodies lay in the center of the village, carrion crows and rats crawling all over it. There were guards posted everywhere, probably to keep any of the remaining villagers from burning it. When Ali saw the tiny hand of a toddler, she felt something snap inside her, and she knew she'd gone full-goddess.

Inuyasha could hardly breathe through the stench of rotting flesh, and he wasn't any happier about the bastard on the horse. He wished he could deck the man but didn't want to sully his hands with the man's blood. Inuyasha caught Miroku flexing his right hand and knew this was one of the rare times the monk wished he still had his wind tunnel.

"And where are the women?" the monk asked.

"Oh, they're safe in the care of my Lord. Perhaps we can arrange a trade?" The man started to leer at Ali but suddenly his face drained of color, and he became instantaneously sober— for all of three seconds before his head was separated from his body.

Inuyasha's hair stood on end as he turned to look at Ali, whose eyes had gone silver on red. Through her eyebrow was a pale blue crescent mark the size of his thumb nail. Her cheeks bore three ragged, golden stripes and her jaw had begun to morph. Inuyasha backed away from her nervously, Tesseiga pulsing wildly at his hip as white fur rippled down Ali's skin, turning a pale yellow-gold in the setting sun.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" yelled a man who'd emerged to see why the now rider-less horse was screaming in fear. "INVADERS!" he shouted and swung his sword drunkenly at Ali's blood-covered scythe.

Inuyasha,Miroku and Sango stood and watched in utter shock as the sweet, shy and very frightened little girl they'd grown fond of disappeared and was replaced with a silent, deadly killing force that wiped out the battalion of samurai in three minutes flat, not seeming to notice that her arm bled from where a samurai had gotten a strike in. Inuyasha shivered— she was so far gone she didn't even notice that the cut had gone clear to the bone. Finally, one samurai managed to knock the scythe out of her hands, and he held her at sword point, trembling with fear and rage. The scythe rang as if it were a bell as it flew through the air and landed blade first into a stump, the stump cracking straight down the middle.

Miroku had never seen anything more frightening in his life, not even his father's death. When Inuyasha went full-demon, he would cackle madly as he killed. Ali, though, was silent, reminding Miroku of Sesshomaru. He gulped nervously and grabbed Sango's hand tightly as Ali stared down the samurai's blade coolly, her crescent-marked eyebrow lifting in scorn. A second later, her whip was unfurled and covered in blue flames, and the samurai screamed in terror as she flicked her wrist to wrap the whip around his throat. As his body burst into flames, a tall man finally emerged from one of the bigger huts, dressed only in hakama. "Oi, be quiet!" he ordered, but then blinked at the slaughter around him. "What the hell is all this?" he demanded.

Ali turned to him after retrieving her scythe. "**ARE YOU LORD MARUTSUKI**?" she asked, making Miroku wish deeply she'd just stayed silent as her cold, malevolent voice echoed in his head lightly. He really didn't want to know if she could get as ruthless as her voice indicated.

"And so what if I am? If you're the one responsible for this, you're gonna pay!" he vowed and picked up a blade.

Ali could suddenly understand Sesshomaru's views on humans— she'd never been so furious in her life. She'd grown up admiring samurais and knights, wishing desperately for one to come and save her. She was sickened with the way these men called themselves samurai. They had no honor and certainly no pride. The things they'd thought as they'd attacked her made her blood boil with rage, her heart breaking for the women who'd been their victims in the past. The man she fought now was the worst of the lot; he was actually _aroused_ by their fight. He had plans for her that she wanted nothing to do with.

Unlike the rest of the men she'd been killing, their leader was very sober and very good at fighting, actually getting a few blows in. Ali ached everywhere, especially her arm, but she refused to lose to this monster disguised as a human. Finally, she smashed the handle of her scythe into his stomach, making him grunt and drop his sword. She could feel the goddess power fading now and knew she had to end this before he recovered.

"**DIE**!" she ordered, covering her blade in fire before copying a move from a video game. Ali cut the man in half, decapitated him, and then sliced the head in half as it flew through the air. Her goddess powers finally expended for the moment, Ali dropped to one knee and panted heavily as she felt her body return to almost normal. She pulled herself to her feet and turned to her friends shakily, only to have them step away from her, Miroku pushing his wife behind him.

Ali sighed inwardly at the terrified expressions on their faces. Inuyasha was actually growling at her, his hand on Tesseiga. "I'm not going to hurt you guys," she said her voice nearly back to normal. She cradled her aching arm as she waited for their response. They flinched at the sound of her voice and took another step away from her. Ali turned from them so they wouldn't see the hurt expression on her face as she sat on a rock and concentrated on cleaning her blade.

She looked up from that task as a girl about nine years old inched closer to her. Ali smiled gently at her and set aside the blade. The girl ran over before Sango could grab her and buried her face in Ali's lap, sniffling.

"Thank you for saving us," she whispered. Ali stroked her hair in silence until the girl's tears stopped. "This was Papa's, so here," she said and handed over a brown package. The girl returned to the other remaining villagers, who all began slowly leaving things at Ali's feet.

Sango couldn't believe that Ali had just done that. This was a girl who got upset over Kagome and Inuyasha's raised voices, so how could she just slaughter people like that and then act as if nothing had happened? She remembered Naraku doing the same thing to her family, and she grew angry at the girl who was now receiving tributes from the villagers. Swiveling around, Sango headed back home, Miroku and Inuyasha a few feet behind her.

"Kagome mentioned that she sensed Ali's powers triple in strength, but I had no idea what she meant," Inuyasha said quietly.

"I have sensed her twice before, but it was never like this. Something happened today that was different than the other two times," Miroku mused.

"She's no better than Naraku," Sango said. "If I see her anywhere near the children, I'll kill her. Tell her that," she added and stalked away to blow off some steam.

Ali bit her lip and silently slid into Kaede's hut, intending to just grab a few hours' sleep. Inuyasha was waiting for her, his hand resting on Tesseiga sheath. "Do you even regret that?" he asked quietly in the dark hut.

Ali took a deep breath and realized she couldn't hear anyone familiar nearby. Inuyasha had hidden them. "No. They had no honor or pride or any decency," she said softly, her chin tilted defiantly.

"And you remember everything? Even what you did to that last man?" Inuyasha asked her, his eyes filling with disgust.

"Yes, and I now remember the demon I killed right before Rin's wedding and the village elder I killed two months ago. Everyone that has died by my hand has fully deserved it," she said quietly.

Inuyasha's hand dropped to his side, and he sighed. "I suppose you think you can just randomly kill anyone who makes you angry," he said.

Ali snorted. "I am not at all random in who I kill. Everyone I've killed is evil, all the way through to their souls. I can hear what they're thinking when I'm like I was earlier. Those men— the things they've done to women—"Ali shook her head. "They would continue doing such things unless someone stopped them. I was there, so I stopped them. I have no regrets," she said.

Inuyasha shook his head at her. "I think I understand, but Sango won't. She doesn't want you near her children," he said softly.

Ali's spine went stiff. "Just because I slaughtered evil men does not mean I'd harm a child! She knows what I myself endured as one so remind her of that. Tell her that I will never, ever take the life of a child," she responded coolly as she figured out where Inuyasha had hidden his family. "Kagome is calling you, so you'd better go to her," she added after a long moment.

Once Inuyasha was long gone, Ali gathered all of her things together and hid them down river. Returning to Kaede's hut, she ignored the way everyone skirted around her fearfully all of the next day. Thanking Kaede for her kindness in a short letter, she left the village once darkness fell the next evening. There was no moon. It was clear that although Inuyasha understood her position, he was still afraid of her, and she doubted the others felt any different from Sango.

* * *

><p>Sesshomaru gazed around the bustling seaside marketplace in boredom as Jaken fought with a vendor over the price of some rare fish. It had been two weeks since he'd left Alithia by the river, and he could not get her off his mind. He'd left so abruptly because he'd been tempted to kiss her that night, and he found himself wondering what would have happened had he given into his temptations. He scowled. He'd nearly succeeded in getting her out of his head— that is until six days ago, when he'd felt her power even as far away as the heart of his castle. It had only lasted a few moments, but it was so strong, it was as if she were standing next to him.<p>

He turned his attention back to the task at hand: buying supplies for the castle. Jaken had won the argument with the fish monger and was skipping along happily as they visited the next stall. Suddenly, Jaken let out a screech of anger. "What does she think she's doing here?"

Sesshomaru followed the direction of Jaken's outstretched hand and blinked in surprise as he spotted Alithia talking to a horse vendor. He strode over to the stall, ignoring the way the crowd automatically created a path for him.

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><p>Ali smiled gently at the horse hawker even though she wanted to punch him in the face. The man was trying to milk as much money from her as he could as he tried to sell her a stupid-looking mule.<p>

"I'd much rather have that one there," she said and pointed to a huge black gelding. She could sense that it was part-demon, but she couldn't begin to guess at its powers. It was a beautiful creature and looked like it could handle the smell of blood, like it was a war horse.

"Oh, that one is far too expensive for you and too wild," the man said silkily.

"Nonsense. I can handle him. Besides, I doubt that half-demon horses are much in demand. He's just another mouth to feed— an expensive one, I bet. How 'bout I give you this length of silk and three silver pieces?" she offered. It was entirely too much for the half-starved horse, but she pitied the poor creature.

"How am I to know that's genuine?"

Ali sighed in irritation. This guy was giving her the run-around, and she wasn't sure whether it was due to the fact she was a girl or the fact he thought her to be a hanyo.

Suddenly, the man turned a pasty white color and tried to shoo her away, raising his voice. "I don't serve your kind, now get lost!" he said. Ali raised an eyebrow as the man began babbling incoherently.

"Alithia, what are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked, ignoring the horse hawker.

The half-goddess turned and smiled at him. "Hello, Lord Sesshomaru. I'm attempting to buy a horse," she said with a low bow. It irked him that she bowed for some reason.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And why would you do that? Why are you not with Inuyasha?"

Ali shrugged and lowered her eyes to the ground. "Oh, I just got restless and felt like wandering the countryside," she answered vaguely, not lying but not telling the complete truth.

Sesshomaru frowned down at her for a long moment before it became clear she wasn't going to tell him what had happened. He turned to the horse hawker, who quivered in visible fear. "Give her whatever she wants," Sesshomaru ordered before walking away. A few minutes later, he forced himself to hide a smile— of course she'd chose the most pathetic-looking creature the man had to offer.

"Thank you. He was being sleazy to me earlier," Ali said softly as she stroked the nose of her new horse. Sesshomaru snorted. For the next several hours, he followed the half-goddess around as she purchased supplies for traveling, rousing his curiosity.

Ali was highly entertained. Any vendor she approached practically killed themselves groveling at her feet. All day, she'd had to fight to get fair deals on anything she'd bought. Now they pretty much gave her whatever she looked at. *_So having a demon lord around is useful,_* she mused, biting back an amused smile.

Once she'd gotten everything she thought she might use, Ali led the way out of the village. Jaken eventually caught up with them, wailing in despair that he'd been left behind and breaking the comfortable silence she'd been sharing with Sesshomaru. She shook her head in amusement as Sesshomaru 'accidently' stepped on Jaken, silencing the imp momentarily.

"What exactly is so humorous, Alithia? You have been laughing most of the day," the demon lord sounded rather annoyed with her.

"I think I might like having you shop with me," she said cryptically with a crooked smile.

Sesshomaru glared at her, his eyes glowing like liquid gold in the growing darkness of evening. "I do not like being manipulated," he growled out, stopping in the middle of the road. "And especially not for money."

Ali wondered what was wrong with her— the molten glow of his eyes in the darkness was sending thrills down her spine, despite the fact that he was pissed off at her. She walked off the road and began climbing a tree to fetch the things she'd left outside the village before answering him. "I don't recall you spending any money on me, nor do I recall asking for any. I simply was commenting on how much easier it was to get a fair deal with you around. I think your reputation quite precedes you," she said as she dropped her possessions to the ground.

Sesshomaru stared at the tree Alithia was rummaging around in through narrowed eyes. He was perfectly sure he'd just detected a bit of arousal from her, one that was gone now, and it wasn't because she was hiding from it under the pretense that she thought he was an incubi. His lips twitched at that. Sesshomaru would never again think about incubi without remembering Alithia's puzzled expression as she tried to figure out where his exceptionally good looks came from.

"Hnn," was what he answered her with after she'd clarified her statement. Honestly, it _was_ rather amusing, the way people would act as if he'd kill them just for speaking to him. "I would hardly call any of that fair. They very nearly gave it to you for nothing," he pointed out as she struggled with something.

"It makes up for the outrageous prices I was charged before I ran into you. Being a girl and a hanyou really sucks on occasion," she grunted and dropped a staff an inch taller than him to the ground.

"You are half-goddess, not a hanyou. Do not confuse the two," he said, rather irked with her.

"Oh, I know that, but one of the villagers saw my ears and assumed I was a hanyou. After they didn't kill or attack me, I saw no reason to correct them. They looked a bit jumpy as it was," she said, crouching on a branch. Sesshomaru instinctively caught her as she jumped, holding her for a moment longer than was strictly necessary. He set her down quickly and turned away. He'd been tempted to kiss her senseless for no other reason than that he could.

Sesshomaru quietly watched Alithia as she arranged her things into a manageable bundle. Jaken finally recovered from being kicked, and he began whimpering about something as Sesshomaru tore his gaze from the half-goddess and started down the path. A moment later, he heard a hiss of pain and swiveled around as the strangely enticing scent of Alithia's blood filled his nose. She didn't notice his attentive gaze as she lifted the sleeve of her strange garment and frowned at the white bandage around her upper arm that was now slowly turning a brilliant red. Sesshomaru wondered what had possessed his brother to allow her to leave in such a weakened state. She had clearly used her powers again, and with this injury, she was even more vulnerable than ever. Not that _he _actually cared. But Rin did— she'd mentioned how much she liked the half-goddess the last time he'd spoken to her.

Ali stared down at the wound that had nearly severed her arm and swallowed a yelp of pain. "You are injured," a deep voice stated. Ali snorted and didn't look up from where she perched on a rock to unwrap her arm; she had a feeling that she'd busted the stitches Kaede had given her a few days ago.

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock," she muttered in English absently.

"What did you say?" a suspicious tone had entered Sesshomaru's voice. Though he hadn't' apparently understood her words, he'd obviously had no trouble picking up on her sarcasm.

"I'm sorry. I can't see this wound very well, but I believe the stitches are busted. Will you take a look?" she asked, finally looking over at the demon lord.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the girl. He hadn't understood her words, but her tone had implied she'd said something akin to, "No shit," in response to his rather inane observation that she was hurt. What he didn't understand was how she could be sarcastic with him when a mere fourteen days ago, he'd made her tremble in fear.

Wordlessly, he knelt next to her and gently took her arm in his hands. Sure enough, she'd broken the stitches that held the wound closed. "When exactly where you attacked with a sword? My idiot of a brother didn't do it, did he?" he asked her.

"No, Inuyasha didn't do it. It was one of the so-called 'samurai' I killed five days ago. My goddess powers have healed it quite a bit, but I still need the stitches. It was all the way down to my bone before. Can you re-stitch it?" she asked him.

Sesshomaru scowled at her. "What makes you think I would know how to do such a thing?" he asked.

"Inuyasha said you're nearly seven hundred years old, for one thing. You travel alone. Mostly, I assume that you can sew because you're a soldier. At some point, you have to have to tend to your wounds or the wounds of others. Not to mention the battlefront is no place for a seamstress— at least, not one who has no battle skills. I imagine you had to take care of your own armor and clothing. Inuyasha also mentioned that you fought in some wars, though he didn't go into detail," the girl explained.

"Hnn." Sesshomaru held out his hand and wasn't disappointed when Jaken placed a small kit into it. For several minutes, there was silence as Sesshomaru carefully pulled out the broken stitches and began re-stitching the wound. His eyebrow hitched up as she sat with her face twisted into a thoughtful frown— she apparently didn't feel what he was doing.

She turned her strange purple eyes to him and tilted her head. "Lord Sesshomaru, who is Naraku?"


	6. Chapter 6

AN-As always, thanks to my Beta readers... A few of my friends have read this and gotten confused about Ali's time traveling... if anyone else is confused as well, let me know and I'll insert an expliation in an up coming chapter.

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><p>The words of the half-goddess echoed through Sesshomaru's head. *'<em>Who is Naraku?' Why did they not tell her about him, especially given that it is suspected he has returned from the dead?<em>* Sesshomaru thought with a low growl as he stared into her confused purple eyes in shock.

"I know that name—it was something Kagome said the day I came here. It had something to do with my parents. My memories of that day are really fuzzy, and I don't really remember anything else other than you saving me. If this Naraku had something to do with my family's death in the future, then how is that everyone here knows him well enough to be scared? Is everyone from the same place as Kagome and I? And what exactly is there to fear? I say that because Sango—"

Sesshomaru reached up and gently placed two fingers to her soft lips to stop the stream of words flowing out of her mouth. "My brother knows more about Naraku than I do, so we will return to his home and have him explain it. Why they have not spoken of this to you is beyond me. Naraku was not my enemy until just before we destroyed him… but, apparently, we failed," he said, pulling his gaze from hers. "We walked past a cave once, remember? You were frightened of it, and I told you that an ambitious half-demon was born there? Naraku was that demon. He possessed another name, but I do not recall it," Sesshomaru said as he finished stitching her wound.

As the demon lord applied a salve over the stitches, Ali gave a soft sigh.

"Did I hurt you?"

Ali looked over at Sesshomaru as his fingers hovered over the stitches. "No," she said. He continued to rub the salve on her arm gently. Ali felt her ears droop as she thought about how much she did not want to go back to Inuyasha's village. As Sesshomaru began wrapping her arm in a fresh bandage, Ali stared into the small fire Jaken had built.

Sesshomaru wiped the remaining salve off his fingers and watched as dread flickered in Alithia's eyes. "What is the matter, Alithia?" he asked, making her jump. She bit her lip before she spoke.

"Do we have to go back? I mean, can't you just tell me what you know about Naraku?" she asked finally. Sesshomaru's chest tightened at the vulnerability filling her face. This time, Sesshomaru couldn't fight the urge to comfort her. He brushed her hair off her forehead and then cupped her cheek and turned her face toward his, ignoring Jaken's squawk of surprise.

"It will be alright, Alithia. It is very unlike my brother to make someone like you leave his home. Who saw you go full-goddess?" Sesshomaru murmured. He glared at Jaken until the toad demon scurried off into the bushes. Alithia pulled away from his touch and buried her face in her hands, letting out a broken sob before speaking softly.

"No one _made_ me leave. I didn't feel welcome there anymore, not after what Sango said. She was with me when I was a full-goddess, and so were Miroku and Inuyasha. I heard Sango tell Miroku that I was no better than Naraku as they left. She doesn't want me near her children, and I think your brother feels the same way—they returned to the village before I did, and Inuyasha hid everyone," she whispered quietly.

Sesshomaru sighed softly. Having seen for himself the way Alithia lost her human emotions when she went full-goddess, he didn't doubt that she'd frightened the others, especially his brother. He sighed again and ran his claws down her cheek, ignoring the way she flinched as his claws brushed across her skin. "Perhaps if I knew what happened exactly, I could tell you why my brother acted the way he did."

Ali chewed her lip and exhaled shakily. "Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango wanted to teach me how to kill a demon, so we headed to a village that Sango knew of. About half a mile outside the village, I heard someone calling for help, and then Inuyasha and I both smelled blood."

Sesshomaru listened with a lifted eyebrow as Alithia briefly described what had happened in that village. "And why did you attack a mounted warrior with the few combat skills you possess? You could have been killed," he stated coldly. *_Not that this Sesshomaru particularly cares about the suicidal half-goddess._* "You are fortunate that you were wounded enough to awaken your full-goddess powers before your demise. This Sesshomaru's Rin would be very sad," he added. Alithia slowly stiffened and turned her gaze back toward the fire. Sesshomaru watched as she seemed to brace herself for her next words.

Ali let out a sigh. Grateful as she was for the demon lord's tenderness, she knew it would vanish once she told him the truth. "I was already full-goddess when that happened. I chose to be a full-goddess this time. At that moment, I understood why you hate humans," she confessed. Ali grew nervous when Sesshomaru didn't even move. Her eyes closed, and she waited for him to kill her on the spot or tell her to never go near Rin again should she wish to live.

To Ali's eternal surprise, the demon lord only spoke one word. "Why?"

The simple question spoke volumes. Why had she chosen to go full-goddess? Why did she dare think she understood his reasons for hating humans? Why had she run away? Ali glanced at the demon lord with a great deal of apprehension. Unlike his brother, he did not rest his hand on his sword as he waited for her to explain herself.

"I made myself change into a full-goddess because of the villagers. The men I killed that day—they were unworthy of the status they'd either given themselves or had stolen. They slaughtered the men of that village and then left their bodies to rot as a warning to those who would defy them," Ali said, her eyes blazing as she remembered that tiny little hand that had hung out of the stinking mass of dead men. Sesshomaru snorted.

"You chose to go full-goddess over that? It is a normal part of war for such things to happen," he said callously.

Ali sighed. "I know. I don't really like that aspect of war, but I understand it. But this wasn't a war—these were their neighbors and children. When I said they slaughtered the men in the village, I meant ALL of the men in the village. Even the infants, Maru. How could anyone just kill a helpless baby like that?" she asked as her fingers curled into fists.

Sesshomaru stared at Alithia for a long time. Part of him thought her to be soft—to allow her emotions to dictate her actions showed weakness. Then there was the part of him that was reminded that Rin was human and that she'd just had a son. If anyone dared to hurt his ward, he'd slaughter them without regret. Sesshomaru wrapped his fingers around her arm and turned her to face him. "How did you know what had happened in that village? If Inuyasha's pack knew, they would have helped—the demon slayer in particular," he stated.

Ali stared into Sesshomaru's cold gaze, unsure whether her surprise stemmed from the fact he'd asked her that particular question or if it was because he still touched her, even after what she'd done. Then she blinked as she realized she had no earthly idea how she'd known about the connection between the bandits calling themselves samurai and the village they'd effectively destroyed. Ali let a sheepish smile cross her face, making him exhale an annoyed sigh.

"You have no idea how you acquired the knowledge, do you?" Ali felt her face flush, and she turned away from him. Before she could form any sort of response, Jaken's shrill voice pierced the air.

Ali swiveled an ear toward Jaken, giggling behind her hand when she realized he'd gotten stuck in mud. Scrambling to her feet, she hurried over and freed the imp. Jaken spluttered at her, reminding her that it was not her place to touch him. Ali rolled her eyes and returned to Sesshomaru's side to gather her things, ignoring Jaken's squeals of outrage that she dared to walk beside his master.

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><p><em>The next evening…<em>

Sesshomaru flicked the blood from his claws and made his way back to the small camp he'd told Jaken to set up for Alithia. She'd been very quiet and **very** slow all day. He knew part of it was her reluctance to return to his idiotic brother's home. Not wanting to be delayed by having to care for an ill half-goddess, he'd ordered their stop for the day. As Sesshomaru entered the dark encampment, he spotted Jaken scurrying back from wherever he'd been. "Jaken, where is she?" he asked coolly. Jaken tripped over his own feet in surprise.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Forgive my failure to follow your orders!" the little toad cried, groveling with his face pressed into the ground. "The foolish girl took off, and now I cannot find her! There are demons coming this way; perhaps we will be lucky and they will—" Jaken's sentence was cut short as a large rock bounced off his head.

"Jaken, stop playing around and cook this rabbit," Sesshomaru ordered, dropping said rabbit in front of the twitching imp. He followed Alithia's scent until it disappeared underneath the stench of bile. Covering his nose, he walked further into the wooded area and suddenly caught Alithia's scent again, only it had completely changed. He found the half-goddess crouched in the roots of a tall tree, her head resting against her knees. "Alithia."

* * *

><p>Ali shivered under the tree as the howls of demons filled the air. She couldn't believe that she'd lost count of the days—she hadn't done that in months. Tonight, she was human, and every demon within smelling distance would try to find her. She found it deeply ironic that her human night was at the time when the moon mirrored Sesshomaru's mark. Covering her head with the hood on her jacket, she pulled her knees up to her chest and bit the fabric of her pants to stop her chattering teeth. She wasn't keen on giving away her hiding spot. A moment later, she became aware of a deep voice speaking her name. She lifted her eyes and saw Sesshomaru standing in front of her hiding spot.<p>

"Alithia, come out from there," the demon lord ordered.

Ali shrunk back against the roots of the tree. "I'd rather not," she said softly to her knees. The demon lord moved so fast she didn't even know what was happening until she was clutching the edge of his armor to maintain her balance.

Sesshomaru did not like the scent pouring off the girl. For one thing, it was attracting demons, and for another, it made him want to cradle her against his chest. When she defied his order to come out, he felt his blood boil. Sesshomaru reached under the tree and wrapped his fingers around her delicate wrists and yanked the half-goddess out. She gave a startled squeal and staggered into his chest, her fingers hooking into his Mokomoko and over his armor, her nose a centimeter from one of its sharp spikes. Sesshomaru suddenly realized he felt no power coming from her whatsoever. Reaching up, he pushed back the black hood covering Alithia's head, ignoring her flinch. Sesshomaru stared at the inky black hair, his brain racing to imprint Alithia's human scent into the deepest regions of his mind. He picked up a strand of still-pink hair and let out a soft growl as she shivered.

"You should have mentioned it was your human night sooner."

Ali bit her lip as Sesshomaru spoke. She took the smallest of steps backwards, seeing as how at some point he'd begun playing with a strand of her hair and couldn't move any further without her hair being pulled out. "I'm sorry. I lost a day somewhere—I thought we'd be back in Inuyasha's village before tonight. By my calculations, it wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow night," she whispered softly, trembling. She wasn't exactly afraid of him, but he seemed annoyed. The trembling came mostly from the cool night—her half-goddess form didn't even notice the cool spring air, but her human half always noticed the temperature change. Gentle fingers tilted her chin up and molten gold eyes pierced hers, the face in which they sat never losing its mask of indifference.

"Do not fear me. I will not harm you." Ali felt her face turn a deep red as Sesshomaru's rich, growly voice sent shivers down her spine. She felt her eyes widen as his head dipped toward hers.

"I'm not afraid of you. It's just cold," she breathed. She could feel his nose just brushing the tip of hers, his warm breath fanning over her lips and cheeks. His lips had just grazed hers when a demonic cackle filled the trees where they were. As Sesshomaru swiveled around to confront the demons near them, Ali sank to the ground and raised trembling fingers to her lips. His seductive kiss in the cave all those months ago was nothing like the near kiss just now.

*_It has to be whatever it is that makes demons chase me in my human form. I do generally have the steamiest dreams when I'm like this_,* she thought as she watched Sesshomaru dispatch the demons. Part of her wanted to giggle at the rather bored look in his eyes.

Sesshomaru didn't bother to draw a sword to destroy the low-level demons; he just used his claws. He didn't let any of his rage show on his face as he destroyed the demons stupid enough to attack him. How had that just happened? He was not his father; he did NOT have liaisons with human women, whether it was a temporary situation or not. Once the smarter demons had fled, he turned his bleeding gaze to the girl.

"What have you done to this Sesshomaru?" he growled out, letting poison drip from his claws. The girl tried to shrink back under the roots of the large tree, so he grabbed her wrist harshly before she could get to a spot where he couldn't reach her.

Ali's wrist itched as Sesshomaru dug his claws into it. She lifted her large brown eyes to his, worried when she saw that his eyes were that freaky pinkish-red color again. "Did you get hurt?" she asked, attempting to pull her wrist free from his iron grip. A thin black eyebrow shot up and just as quickly, descended. She reached up with her free hand and touched his cheekbone in response to his unasked question.

Sesshomaru repeated his first question with some irritation as he jerked away from her touch. "What have you done?" he asked again.

"I'm sorry. I'm not doing it on purpose."

Sesshomaru's eyebrow lifted again. Operating on a sudden suspicion, he dragged Alithia closer with the hand that held her wrist and used his other arm to pin her against his chest. He ignored her wide brown eyes as he lowered his head to breathe in her scent, making her heart rate kick up. Pheromones. She was in heat, unfortunately for her. Sesshomaru rubbed the tip of his nose against the underside of her ear and then allowed his lips to ghost over the corner of her jaw. A shuddering gasp escaped Alithia's lips as he lifted her wrist to suck away the poison. Even though he knew it was her pheromones responsible for the way he was acting, Sesshomaru didn't particularly care to stop. He lowered his head to her throat again and exhaled, then pressed a kiss to her jugular, letting his teeth graze the throbbing vein there. She purred softly and raised her free hand to tangle in his hair, her thumb brushing over the tip of his ear. Sesshomaru gave a soft growl as his tongue traced her collarbone.

Ali had never felt like this before. The second time she'd been human, a man had found her by the river and had tried to seduce her after a bit of flirting, but she hadn't really felt all that aroused. She'd fled when the man had gotten aggressive. This, on the other hand, was way better than anything she'd done with Eddie. Ali whimpered and fisted her hand in Sesshomaru's hair tighter as his tongue dragged across her skin in the same place he'd licked her in the cave. Thinking of the cave was like having a bucket of icy water dumped on her head.

What in the hell were they doing? She had to get away from him before he killed her. Kagome had told her that Sesshomaru had nearly killed Izyaoi for being pregnant with Inuyasha; she did not want to meet the same fate. She wasn't intentionally seducing him with her scent, but she had a feeling he wouldn't see it the same way later. When he dropped her wrist to cradle the back of her head, Ali dropped straight to the ground and scrambled backwards as far as she could.

Sesshomaru nearly staggered as Alithia wriggled free. The cool breeze brought the smell of roasting meat and snapped him out of his… whatever it was. He smoothed his hair where she'd touched it and took a deep breath. The acidic stench of fear and the disgusting smell of burning flesh assured that he wouldn't be enthralled with Alithia's scent again. He knelt by the tree roots and peered into the darkness. "Come out, Alithia. I did not mean to frighten you—I will not do it again," he said softly.

Ali stared at Sesshomaru's outstretched hand with apprehension. She shivered as a cold breeze brushed across her hands and exhaled a deep breath. She took his hand, ignoring the tingle that raced across her skin. "Come, Jaken is preparing food for you." Sesshomaru tucked his Mokomoko around her and led her back to their campsite.

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><p><em>Just before dawn…<em>

The hooded figure pressed a gentle hand to the Jaken's head and caught him as he slumped over. Feminine hands covered the toad demon with a stray blanket before kneeling down next to the sleeping girl. Just as the hooded figure touched the girl's cheek, a cold blade kissed the woman's jaw.

"What have you done to my servant?" a deep voice questioned coolly. The hooded figure smiled to herself and turned slowly, lest the demon lord decide her head looked better separated from her body.

Sesshomaru kept a close eye on the woman that rose from Alithia's side. He hadn't detected her presence until she'd snapped a small twig under her foot. As the woman stood, her hood fell off her head to reveal two ears identical to Alithia's when she was in her half-goddess form. He took in the sand-colored hair and the purple eyes as he sheathed Tokiijin.

"You are her mother."

The woman looked down at Alithia's sleeping form sadly and nodded. Sesshomaru turned and walked away from the camp, expecting the goddess to follow him.

"My name is Maiko," the goddess said as she pulled her hood back up. Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow. He didn't particularly care what her name was as long as he got the answers he was looking for. Maiko grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Lord Sesshomaru, please—you must watch over my child!" the woman begged, her purple eyes filling with tears. Though her eyes had more of a blue tint to them, they were similar enough to Alithia's that Maiko's tears disturbed him. He snorted and tried to free his hand from her grip.

"Why?" he asked her, his expression never changing. The goddess clutched his hand tighter, using both of her hands now. "She is strong for a halfling," he added.

"You have no idea how strong she is, but that's not what I meant. My daughter must help those who call out for help, especially children and pregnant women. If she hears their call, she'll do whatever she can to protect them, no matter the danger she herself is in. Those are the moments when she'll be most vulnerable. The demon that was responsible for my death is after her, and he will sink to unimaginable lows to get what he wants," the goddess said softly. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes suspiously.

"If you were killed by a demon, how are you speaking to me now? Aren't goddesses impossible to kill?" he asked coolly. The woman laughed gently and cupped his cheek.

"Flatterer. I suppose you could call me a goddess, although technically I'm a tennin."

Sesshomaru would have gaped if he was less refined; it certainly explained a lot. Tennins were a strange mesh of angel and animal spirit, each bound to a god in servitude. Skilled at shapeshifting, they could take any form their master allowed. Powerful though they were, they did have restrictions such as Alithia being bound to serve those who called for help.

"The truth is, goddesses are very hard to kill, but not impossible. How I am speaking to you is _confusing,_ at best. I know that whoever killed me and my husband tried to kill her but was unsuccessful because I put a spell on her. It was one that began dissipating when she arrived here. With that spell were all my memories of my life until the moment I died, and they merged with my past self, who is now my present self," the tennin said softly.

Sesshomaru's head hurt with the effort to work out what the woman had just said.

"More than anything, Lord Sesshomaru, my child will need a friend. My sweet girl has a gentle heart and killing people is against her nature, so protecting those who need it will weigh heavily on her. When a person is being hurt and they ask for help, my daughter will know why they ask for it," the woman said softly. "She will suffer terrible nightmares, reliving their pain. Her path as a tennin is not an easy one."

Sesshomaru studied the horizon in silence as it began turning a pale lavender color. Part of him was angry that this tennin would dare ask something like this of him; part of him was pleased with the information that would help protect Rin. There was a tiny, infinitesimal part of him that ached for the gentle, young girl he'd come to know over the last nine months; it wasn't as if she'd suffered enough abuse in her short life, now she had to relive other's pain? That tiny part of him rebelled violently at the thought.

"Why should this Sesshomaru do such a thing? As Lord of the Western Lands, this Sesshomaru has more than enough to concern himself with," he pointed out, not ready to admit he'd already decided to acquiesce to the woman's pleas.

"Precisely because you are the Lord of the Western Lands—there few stupid enough to challenge your power. My daughter needs that protection until she is ready for the choice she will have to make. This decision will either break her heart or her mind. It will be then that she will need you more than ever, Sesshomaru," the tennin said, her body beginning to shimmer and fade away. Sesshomaru made a noise of consent to assure her that he'd do as she asked. Shimmering, ghostly hands cupped his face, tilting it down before soft lips brushed his forehead. "Thank you," the tennin whispered as she faded completely away. Sesshomaru refrained from touching his crescent moon as he returned to camp.

Later that morning Ali woke to the sound of Jaken scuffling around the campfire, muttering all the while. Opening one eye, she saw the demon lord swinging one of his blades around so fast it made the air hum. A fine layer of sweat dripped down his bare chest as he seemingly danced with his blade. Ali pulled herself into a sitting position and continued to watch him. Something about what he was doing was familiar, but she couldn't say what it was.

"It is very rude to stare."

Ali jumped guiltily at his voice.

Sesshomaru ignored Jaken's sullen muttering as he began his daily warm-up, his mind processing the information that Alithia's mother had given him. Just as he was going to tell Jaken to wake up the girl, he heard her sigh sleepily. Sesshomaru ignored her and continued to swing Bakusaiga around fast enough to make the air hum. He flicked a glance at the girl as she sat up, inwardly frowning as he realized she was still human. The fact she was staring at him hungrily didn't help anything, though he could tell she wasn't aware of how intense her gaze had become. He scolded her for staring, a small part of him that didn't actually exist taking pleasure in the bright blush that stained her cheeks as her gaze dropped to the ground and a soft, breathy apology left her lips.

Ali wasn't sure when she'd started actually staring but was deeply embarrassed about it. She murmured an apology to the ground and quickly rose from her bedding. As she put away her things, she continued to watch Sesshomaru out of the corner of her eye. She knew he didn't like it much, but she couldn't help it. It was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. As she sat down to eat a bit of leftover rabbit, the demon lord walked out of the camp area toward the river.

After finishing the cold meat in her fingers, Ali allowed her curiosity to get the better of her and walked over to where Sesshomaru had set down his blade. She cursed her lack of attention to detail as she saw that there were three blades resting against a log, belatedly remembering she'd seen the third one attached to his right side when she'd first run into the demon lord several days earlier. Ali crouched and inspected the newest blade, her fingertips reaching out to touch the red tassel that dangled from the hilt. Though she was still human, some of her powers were returning. She let out a soft squeal as the sword's aura sent a burning sensation up her arm.

She sucked on her fingers and glared at the stupid blade, then looked at the other two blades. All three swords had a strange appealing beauty, but she wasn't going to EVER touch the one that had just burned her again. Now that she thought about it, the sword really gave her the creeps. It seemed to whisper dark, bloody, and horrid things to her. She shivered and pulled her gaze from it.

Her gaze returned to the two blades Sesshomaru normally carried. Ali tilted her head as one of the blades began to pulse, glowing a soft purplish-black in time to Sesshomaru's heartbeat. She picked up the blade and unsheathed it, ignoring Jaken's outraged squawk. Closing her eyes, she rose to her feet and held the blade horizontally in front of herself, then spun a small circle and extended the blade. Keeping her eyes closed, she began to hesitantly mimic something she'd seen… somewhere.

Sesshomaru dropped his handful of water as he felt both Tokijin and Tensaiga pulse and narrowed his eyes. He quietly returned to the campsite and stopped short. Alithia held Tensaiga and was very awkwardly swinging it around with her eyes closed. Fury boiled his blood and made him growl as he strode across the encampment, kicking Jaken as he passed the idiotic toad. He picked up Tokijin and swung it at Alithia's head, only marginally surprised when she blocked it at the last second, wincing as her wrists were wrenched. His rage faded into pure amusement when her eyes opened, and she gasped in shock. Her cheeks turned red, and she dropped her gaze to his feet, lowering Tensaiga.

"What were you doing, Alithia? And why have you not returned to your normal form?" he questioned.

Ali licked her lips nervously and held the still-pulsing blade up to Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I don't know what that was, really. It was something someone did a long time ago, but I can't remember who it was," she confessed, waiting for him to take his sword back.

The demon lord lowered the sword he held, making Ali step back warily. The blade still spoke of death, but it was just a whisper now. As he took the purple-hued blade from her, their fingers brushed, causing Ali to give a hiss of pain—now that she no longer held the strange blade, her fingers hurt from having touched the creepy sword.

Sesshomaru frowned at Alithia as she cradled the hand that had held Tensaiga's hilt against her chest. He set both of his swords down and took her hand gently. The fingertips were a bright, angry red as if she'd burned them. He found that ironic considering the way fire seemed attracted to her. Then again, she was human at the moment.

"Did you know that the sword you were holding talks? It's very creepy; it's what hurt my fingers," she said as she tried to pull her hand free. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and tightened his hold. "And the one I was holding, its aura pulses to your heartbeat. My powers won't fully regenerate until moonrise tonight, but I have enough power to sense that." Alithia made a face after this confession.

Sesshomaru kissed her fingertips in apology before releasing her hand. "Why do you make such a face? You are an exceptionally powerful halfling if you can sense the power my swords hold long before you return to your true form. It is something to be proud of, not something to be disgusted by," he said, inwardly annoyed at her for making him act impulsively. Alithia sighed and turned away from him.

"I'm not disgusted by being able to sense your swords. I'm annoyed that I'm vulnerable until the moon rises tonight. Until the first time I became human, I did not realize how much I liked how well I could hear in my true form. I feel disturbingly deaf like this. Plus, becoming human hurts so bad it makes me ill." Alithia's nose wrinkled up adorably.

Sesshomaru ruthlessly squashed down the attraction to her. She was human, and he was not his father. He turned away from her angrily and stalked back to the river to finish his morning ritual, snatching up his swords as he left. "Do not touch my things again, Alithia," he ordered.

Ali quietly packed her things, attempting to ignore Jaken's gloating. She whirled to him in annoyance. "I seem to remember someone being kicked for not trying to stop me," she snarled. "Now shut up, will you?"

Ali was ready to flee. She hadn't meant to piss off the demon lord so badly. *_I'm lucky he didn't kill me on the spot. I should know better than to let my curiosity get the better of me_,* she thought as she smothered the fire. Her back seized with ghostly pains. As she tied a bag to her new horse, a striped wrist reached over her shoulder and long fingers checked the harness. Ali sucked in a scream of surprise and bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, every muscle in her body ready to flee as soon as the demon lord gave her enough room to do so.

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><p>Sesshomaru's anger had faded as soon as he left the camp. It was not, after all, really Alithia's fault that he was somewhat attracted to her. He would just have to ignore it, the way he had rather successfully ignored Rin's beauty after she had grown into adulthood. As he returned to the camp, Sesshomaru had to force his face to retain its normal lack of expression. The wind ruffled his hair, bringing the smell of panic and fear that most defiantly emanated from Alithia. He sighed. The foolish girl was going to attempt to run. He crossed the encampment to her, kicking Jaken as he passed the angrily spluttering toad. In her haste to leave before he returned, she had failed to notice that some of the straps on the horse's harness had become twisted.<p>

Sesshomaru reached over Alithia's shoulder with one hand and began adjusting the twisted straps, resting his other hand on her shoulder when she tensed up, ready to flee. "I am not angry at you," he said softly, turning her around.

She made a tiny sound of disbelief even as she struggled to keep her breathing even. Sesshomaru realized suddenly that the promise to protect her was not going to be a hard one to keep. Trying not to startle her, he slowly lifted his hand to her lips to brush away the blood.

"I apologize. I did not mean to frighten you. I will not hurt you simply because you anger me. I am a demon, not a human," he said, suppressing the urge to lick her blood from his thumb.

Ali felt her heart rate slow as Sesshomaru rubbed the blood from her lip with his thumb. She found it a bit funny that his reminder that he was a demon and not human assured her she wouldn't be punished for pissing him off. Sesshomaru's fingers continued to stroke her cheek, and Ali wanted to cry. His tender touch was reminding her of how lonely she was here, and despite her brain screaming at her to stop, she leaned into the touch, rubbing her cheek against the calloused palm of his hand.

Sesshomaru's gut twisted as his—_the_ goddess, for lack of a better term, closed her eyes and began rubbing against his hand. Her scent reeked of loneliness, and her face told him that she was starved for physical affection that had no hidden motives. He allowed the contact for a moment longer until Jaken woke up. He pulled his hand away from her face and if it trembled a little, no one could tell when it was hidden by the sleeve of his kosodo.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: A few of my friends have been confused about a few things, so I thought I'd explain them just to be clear.  
>1. The time traveling—Kagome jumped through the well in 1996 and ended up in 1496. Time seems to have passed at the same rate for both time periods, and three years after Naraku's defeat, Kagome returned to the feudal era for good. Here's where people got confused—for Kagome and the gang, seven years have passed (or a total of ten years since Naraku's defeat). For Souta, eighty years have passed before he sends Ali through the well, causing her to travel from 2079 to 1506.<br>2. Kagome knows English? Several of my friends have expressed confusion at this because she missed so much school looking for jewel shards. My spin is that Kagome started learning English in elementary school and took it in seventh and eighth grades, plus whatever classes she DID manage to attend during the series. Hope this all helps!

Thanks again to my beta readers!

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><p>Jaken was concerned for his master. The half-goddess held the strangest hold on him, one that Jaken didn't know how to break. Not even Rin, the silly little human, had the honor of walking beside his master as an equal. He followed the pair as they walked down the road toward Inuyasha's village, their hands occasionally brushing. Jaken narrowed his eyes at the girl and pulled out a scroll that held a record of every time Sesshomaru behaved strangely because of her and recorded this latest incident.<p>

Ali flicked one of her ears back toward a suspiciously silent Jaken. She turned around and walked backwards, lifting an eyebrow at the toad who tried to juggle the staff of two heads, Ah-Un's reigns, and a scroll on which he was scribbling. "What is he doing?" she asked Sesshomaru softly. The demon lord turned his head to watch the toad, and Ali could swear his eyes rolled.

"He is under the impression that you have somehow enchanted me," he responded. Ali snorted. Like she had enough power to do something like that! Nor did she have a death wish. She shook her head at the strange little toad and turned back to face the road in front of her. "Alithia, yesterday you said that Tokijin was 'creepy.' What did you mean by that?" the demon lord asked, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword he was speaking of.

"It wants blood and death. It's giggling, though as long as you're holding it, it's hardly noticeable. I don't like it at all," Alithia said with a shiver. Sesshomaru gave a soft snort. It didn't surprise him that she didn't like Tokijiin, given her powers. He paused and waited for Jaken to stumble into him.

"Take Ah-Un and let my brother know that I will arrive this evening and that I am bringing Alithia with me," he ordered and growled when the toad began to whine about leaving him alone with the girl. As Jaken left with tears streaming down his face, Sesshomaru pretended not to hear Alithia's giggle of amusement. The pair walked down the road in a comfortable silence for nearly four hours before Alithia began to hum distractedly. Sesshomaru flicked his gaze sideways and inwardly smiled at the dreamy expression on her face. Staring out at the road ahead of them, he cleared his throat softly to get her attention. Remembering how much she seemed to enjoy reading, he decided to tell her a story.

"Once, there was a powerful demon who had a beautiful wife and a dutiful son. One day, the demon had two swords forged from his fangs. One was called Tesseiga, which meant 'the iron crushing fang.' The other was called Tensaiga, meaning 'the heavenly birth fang.' The first sword was capable of destroying one hundred enemies in a single stroke; the second sword saved one hundred allies by reviving them from death. Then the demon fell in love with a human and had a second son the same night he passed from this world. To each son, he left a sword. To his firstborn and heir, he left the weaker of the two swords, Tensaiga. To his hanyo son, Tesseiga. For many years, his first son did not know what had become of Tesseiga, which he greatly desired for himself. When he learned of what his father had done, the first son felt betrayed and began seeking a way to kill his younger brother to gain his rightful inheritance. Eventually, the younger son proved worthy of the blade that their father had left him, and the elder brother gave up on claiming it as his own. Tesseiga had bonded itself to the younger brother, and nothing could be done about it. Although the elder of the two brothers did gain other swords of power, he never stopped wondering why his father gave him the weaker of the two swords," Sesshomaru said.

Ali winced as Sesshomaru told his story. She felt bad for him, though she'd never tell him that. Sesshomaru didn't seem the type to accept what he'd consider pity. Ali thought about the story for several long minutes as they continued down the road. It occurred to her that Sesshomaru's story resembled a fairy tale.

"Your father actually gave you the more powerful of the two swords, you know," she said, shivering a little when he glared at her, his lip drawn back in snarl as he stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "Look, I may not have the physical strength required to do it, but I know of at least a dozen ways to kill you in less than a minute. Taking life away is easy—giving it back isn't. Humans have tried and will continue trying to bring back the dead. Although on the rare occasion it does succeed, it ends horribly for all parties involved if they use magic. But you—you can bring back people like they were—whole. If I had a sword that could do that, I'd give it to the one child I wanted to take my place on the throne, as it were," she explained with a shrug. "Besides, you seem to be pretty powerful on your own—why would you even need Tessaiga? You, unlike your idiot of a brother, don't get drawn into ridiculous fights."

Sesshomaru was shocked beyond words. Never had he looked at his father's 'gift' that way. There was also a little part of him that swelled with pride in response to her words about him not needing Tesseiga. He smothered his smile and forced a scowl to cross his features. "Why would you give your child Tensaiga and not Tesseiga? That is something I still do not understand," he said. Alithia took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You really miss your father, don't you?" she asked softly. Sesshomaru chose not to respond, but he didn't pull his hand from hers either. "I doubt 'Lord of the Western Lands' is an empty title. What use is land without people to gather its resources? With Tensaiga at your side, you can revive your subjects when you need to," Alithia explained. "And you have better judgment than your brother, who would revive people just because he could or because someone begged him to," she added.

Sesshomaru snorted. He could only imagine what his idiot of a half-brother would do with Tensaiga and gave a mental shudder. He pretended not to notice how his fingers curled around hers, or how warm his chest felt with the simple action.

Alithia let out an envious sigh. "I know from a few things that Kagome has said that you initially hated Inuyasha; that it seemed to her that you felt as if Izyaoi and Inuyasha stole your father from you. But remember something Sesshomaru—there is something you have that Inuyasha never will, and that is memories of your father. You may have fought with him the day he died, but Inuyasha has never even seen his face." Alithia's voice was filled with raw envy, and it hitched with a choked-back sob. Sesshomaru stopped in the middle of the road and turned to her, lifting her chin up with his other hand.

"You do not remember your parents?" he questioned.

She shook her head, a sad smile crossing her face. "I was only five when they died. I remember the day they died… There was so much blood… and fire… and screaming…" Alithia's voice trailed off as her eyes began to glaze and terror laced her scent. Sesshomaru could see she was about to have a panic attack. So close to his brother's village was not the ideal place for that to happen—from the expression currently on her face, it would be even worse than the last attack he'd seen her have, thus endangering Rin. This was something Sesshomaru refused to allow. So he did something that shocked even himself—he kissed her.

Ali was only anchored to the present by the demon lord's hand intertwined with hers. She could smell gas, blood, and burning flesh and hear screaming, though it was indistinct. She hated reliving this memory; it took so much out of her—her memories screeched to a halt as she became aware of Sesshomaru's lips capturing hers in a heated kiss. She gave a surprised squawk, allowing his hot tongue to dance past her lips, and to Ali's immense surprise, dual with hers as she kissed him back. Somehow, her hands wound up tangled in his hair as he pulled her closer to him with a small growl that made Ali's knees go weak. When Sesshomaru nipped her lip with his fangs, Ali felt an icy cold sensation run down her spine.

*_I'm doing it again, that thing that makes demons act really weird around me. No other reason for him to kiss me. Unless it was 'cause I'm too close to Rin to have a panic attack._* Ali pushed away from Sesshomaru with a deep blush and licked a tiny bead of blood from her bottom lip. She stared at the ground as he gave a low growl of annoyance.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, Lord Sesshomaru. I apologize."

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow at the girl. He hadn't any idea of what she was talking about. "What are you talking about, Alithia?" he asked in a more growly tone than he meant to. Alithia flinched.

"Well, either I was giving off that scent that drives demons crazy or you kissed me because I was panicking and you didn't want to slap me," she said softly, still staring at the dirt. It was Sesshomaru's turn to flinch. Was he really that transparent to her? He snorted and lifted her chin.

"What if I kissed you simply because I wanted to?" he asked. Her purple eyes filled with shock and her jaw dropped. "I could have done something else to snap you out of your panic attack, but I chose to kiss you. You did not trick this Sesshomaru into doing something he did not wish to," he lied coolly. A blush stained the girl's cheeks becomingly, making him actually want to kiss her. Sesshomaru let his hand drop from her chin and began walking down the road toward Inuyasha's village again, pleased when Alithia caught up to him a minute later and walked beside him silently.

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><p>As the sun sank behind the mountains, Ali began walking slower. She was not ready to face Inuyasha's gang. "I will not allow my brother to hurt you." She jumped at the soft assurance coming from the demon lord. She gave him a faint smile and exhaled shakily. Before she could thank him, a small reddish blur slammed into her midsection.<p>

"Ali-chan!" a tiny voice squeaked. Ali stared down at Shippo's head in surprise. "We thought you'd been kidnapped!" he sobbed into her chest. Ali smiled and started rubbing his head.

"Ali-chan!" The way the village children began tugging at Alithia's clothes in their attempt to get her attention made his breath catch in his chest. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He shook off the sensation and stared as the little fox climbed on top of Alithia's head to play a set of pipes. The children began tugging Alithia toward the village as they sang the most ridiculous song Sesshomaru had ever heard.

Sango lifted her head from where she knelt in the garden as the sounds of Shippo's pipes reached her ears. A moment later, she spotted her twins clinging to Ali's hands. She winced as a pang of guilt filled her chest. She hadn't meant for Ali to hear her comment about Naraku. Ali was nothing like the monster who had destroyed her family. She stood up and dusted herself off while she waited for Ali to come close enough for Sango to apologize. The group of children, however, had other ideas and drug the half-goddess to the river.

"Tayaiji." Sango turned to Sesshomaru in surprise. She didn't think they'd ever spoken. "She had no choice in what happened. She will not harm your children unless they go on a killing spree," the demon lord said softly.

"I know why she did it, but what do you mean 'she had no choice'?" Sango asked.

"I was partially incorrect in my assumption that Alithia is a half-goddess—her mother is a tennin." Sango's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember what a tennin was. When she did, she couldn't help but wince. For someone gentle as Ali to be forced to kill—Sango now worried that the sweet girl would go insane.

The next morning Ali felt her stomach turn as Inuyasha's crew told her of each horrid thing Naraku had done to them and understood why Sango had been so furious with her the last time she'd gone full-goddess. It all sounded so horridly familiar that even Inuyasha smacking Jaken around didn't bring a smile to her face. She was glad that Sesshomaru had left early that morning—she would never be able to hide her growing unease from him.

Ali looked over at the old priestess as she striped leaves from some sort of medicinal plant. "You said that even before he became Naraku he was filled with an evil aura, and Lord Sesshomaru said that he was once known by another name. What was it?" she asked.

Inuyasha stopped pounding his brother's servant and let a deep growl escape his lips. "That bastard's name was Onigumo." Ali closed her eyes and swallowed against the bile rising in her throat. "Hey, are you okay? You look sorta funny," Inuyasha said, his amber eyes narrowing as Ali stood up and took shaky steps to her yellow pack. She didn't answer but dug to the bottom of the pack and pulled out a small black bundle.

"Kagome, would you look at this please?"

Kagome took the small bundle from Ali's trembling fingers curiously and opened it. On the black silk cloth lay an unusual ring. Tiny diamonds surrounded a shard of pink stone set in silver. Kagome dropped the bundle as if it were scalding her as she realized that the pink stone was in fact a shard of the shikon jewel. She looked at Ali, whose face was now twisted into a grim smile. Inuyasha picked up the ring and studied it for a moment as Miroku and Shippo peered over his shoulder.

"Where did you get a shard of the shikon jewel?" Kagome asked Ali. Ali ignored the shouts of denial coming from the others as she closed her eyes.

"That is the custom engagement ring that my fiancé had designed for me," she said softly. A deafening silence filled the small hut as Ali ducked out and fled. 

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><p>AN: The song that the Ali and the kids sing is sanji no yousei (The three o'clock fairy) from the third Sailor moon movie. reviews will bring chapter 8 out much faster...hinthint<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

AN:First of all, much thanks to xXChirushiXx for clairfying when Kagome would have learned english. I may be an outaku but I don't understand the school system in Japan. (for the record, chi says 10-12 grade is when kagome would have learned english)

Thanks agian to my beta reader! this chapter was such a pain in arse. happy readings folks! reviews are welcome. Also, if anyone gets the chance they should watch Avatar:Legend of Korra. 'Tis Epic. No Seriously. EPIC!

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><p>Sesshomaru clenched his jaw in disgust as he searched for Alithia along the river. He had returned to Inuyasha's village an hour ago to ensure that Alithia was safe and had found out that the bitch had been betrothed to the psychopath that had nearly killed Rin. He drew Tojjikin out as he finally spotted the object of his fury standing by the river, gazing into it as if she did not even fully appreciate the situation in which she had landed herself.<p>

"So they told you."

Her soft, self-loathing tone threw him, and he stared, his sword raised above his head ready to strike her down.

"He told me his name was Edward and that he would protect me and ensure I was never hurt again. Like the foolish child I was, I believed him. I ran away from a good home and lived with him for nearly two and half years, ignoring all the bad things I began to notice about him. At first, he only lied about the women he was sleeping with—he always told me that I was still a little too young for intimacy at thirteen," Ali explained bitterly.

Sesshomaru didn't care about the sordid details of her love life. He wanted to know why the hell she had failed to mention her connection to Naraku sooner. He opened his mouth to demand an explanation that didn't involve her entire life story, but Alithia trampled right over the top of his words. Sesshomaru was extremely annoyed at this point but could see that there was no shutting her up until she was done talking. He decided that if he allowed her to live, she would learn to respect his status as a Daiyokai lord. He glared at her as she continued.

"I caught him with a woman shortly after we had become intimate, but I didn't really care. I was fourteen and happy. Then he began lying about other things, and I became depressed and tried to kill myself a month before my fifteenth birthday. After I was declared sane by the doctors, he asked me to marry him. Naively, I said yes and continued to ignore the now blatant lies and, even worse, the strange behavior. It wasn't until he—" Alithia stopped speaking for a moment, and her long white ears drooped in shame.

"I broke off the engagement after only five months, and that was when my grandfather managed to track me down. I never told him about living with that monster, and oh how I'm glad I didn't. How could I have been so stupid as to believe someone so damn evil?" Alithia demanded with her arms wrapped around her chest. Sesshomaru lowered his sword with a frown. Alithia was a lovely girl, and her age shouldn't have mattered to someone like Naraku—if this Edward actually was Naraku. Something was not quite lining up. Sesshomaru took a step toward her as he smelled the salty tang of tears. "Don't worry, Sesshomaru. He will never again fool me—Rin is safe," Alithia declared with a sniffle.

Sesshomaru dropped his sword completely now and clutched at his chest as a sharp, unfamiliar pain surprised him. It faded after a moment, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I will kill him," he swore to her softly. Alithia gave a soft snort and lifted her head defiantly.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Lord Sesshomaru, but if anyone kills him, it will be me. I am the one who was deceived after all," she said, steel entering her tone. Sesshomaru gently turned her around and locked gazes with her.

"You do not need to do such a thing as long as I am near—I will avenge you. There is no need to taint your kind heart with cold-blooded murder. What you do when you are asked for help does not qualify," he said softly. Alithia's eyes filled with confusion and a little suspicion.

"What do you mean 'when I am asked for help'?"

Sesshomaru sighed. "I saw your mother the other day—she is a tennin," he explained and started to turn away. He didn't want to see the light leaving her eyes when he told her she had missed seeing her own mother. Alithia grabbed his arm tightly.

"She's okay? Why didn't she talk to me? When can I see her?" The words spilled from Alithia's lips hopefully. Sesshomaru paused but didn't turn to face her.

"You cannot see her, though I did not understand her explanation," he said quietly. A long moment of silence followed. Sesshomaru finally turned to look at the girl and was surprised to see a thoughtful expression on her face. "She said that when you were a child, she put the glamour on you that made you appear human, and when you came to this time period, it brought memories of her death," he said, still watching Alithia's face closely. She gave a faint smile as the confusion left her face.

"I see," she murmured, and a tear slid down her cheek. Sesshomaru yanked the girl into his arms and held her against his Mokomoko as she began to weep. *_I will make sure you are not sad ever again_,* he vowed to her silently. At that particular moment, he did not care how very much like his father he was behaving.

Ali was shocked by the way she wasn't surprised when Sesshomaru pulled her into his arms. She didn't allow herself to cry for long and gave a sniffling sigh before attempting to push away. The demon lord held on tighter and began to run his claws through her hair gently.

"We should get back before someone thinks you killed me," she said, making no other attempts to get away from him. He made a noise of agreement but didn't move either. After a long, quiet moment, Ali had to give a laugh as she heard Kagome 'sit' Inuyasha somewhere nearby. She sighed and pushed away from Sesshomaru, knowing he could hear the others coming as well. A few seconds later, Inuyasha burst through the trees with his sword drawn above his head. Just as he swung it downwards, Kagome stepped through the trees.

"Oswarii!"

Inuyasha was yanked to the ground comically, his sword trapped underneath him.

"Dammit, Kagome! You could have killed me just then! Why the hell did you have to do something so damn stupid?" Inuyasha shouted at Kagome after he'd recovered. Kagome's eye ticked, and she opened her mouth to shout back at him. It was funny how scared Inuyasha looked of his very pregnant wife, but Ali could see this spiraling into an endless argument so she cleared her throat loudly. The couple turned startled gazes toward her, and she bowed toward Inuyasha.

"Thank you for watching out for me, Inuyasha. I am safe with your brother for the moment though," she said softly. Inuyasha turned red and muttered something indecipherable before walking back toward the village. Kagome chose not to comment on the tender look in Sesshomaru's eyes as he gazed at Ali's bowed head.

"We should really finish our conversation from this morning," Kagome said to Ali, who nodded and headed back with Kagome. Sesshomaru followed behind them silently after he'd picked up his sword.

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><p><em>A few hours later<em>

"The weirdest thing Eddie did at first was lie about his name—he told me that his name was Edward, but in reality, it was Onigumo, after his father. He told me he changed it to Edward because it was a common, easily pronounced name."Ali began. Twenty minutes later, she stared at the floor so she wouldn't have to look at anyone's expression. She'd just finished explaining her connection to the man who'd nearly ruined everyone's life, and now silence reigned. Somehow, even knowing that Edward was not Naraku but in fact Naraku's _son _from when he was still the very human Onigumo did not make the situation seem any better.

"That damn bastard!"

Ali jumped and scooted closer to Sesshomaru subconsciously as Inuyasha punched the floor angrily.

"Ali, I have been thinking about your grandpa Souta's death. Given Naraku's skill at deception, I'd venture to say that Kagome-chan's brother wasn't killed by a giant chicken sent by this 'Edward'. It was probably an illusion of some sort—I do not know of any chicken demons for one thing. For another, chickens do not howl," Miroku said as he stared at his right hand. He found it a little ironic that only two weeks ago he'd been wishing for his wind tunnel, and now he feared its return.

Kagome was sorry they had never pressed Ali into talking about this before— for one thing, if she had known there might be another battle looming she would have tried harder not to get pregnant. All this information would have been helpful a long time ago. But Ali had been struggling to understand them during those first three months, and she had suffered from nightmares until she'd stayed in Sesshomaru's castle. Kagome had figured that they'd known everything important, so she hadn't made a big deal about Ali's secrets. Now it seemed like they really should have examined the situation closer.

"How did he get through the well in the first place? I thought only Kagome and Inuyasha could get through," Shippo piped up. Ali lifted her head then and bit her lip.

"Kaede-san, didn't you say that the well was built using part of the Goshinboku?" she asked. Kaede nodded slowly. "I think the well _allowed_ Kagome and Inuyasha to travel through it. Something as old as Goshinboku is bound to have gained some intelligence, especially if it's honored like it has been. From what you all have told me, the only times it hasn't worked is when it was sealed—or rather, when it was hurt. You said that the few demons who were able to get through the well had shards and were pretty powerful. I think they may have actually forced the well to allow them to pass through. Perhaps after you defeated Naraku and were sent back to your time, Kagome, his son—Eddie—followed you. Maybe that's why it took you three years to get back here. Naraku was the epitome of evil, from what you've said. I doubt that his son is very different, and his passing through the well may have hurt it badly enough that it sealed itself off to heal," Ali suggested, a lot of things about Eddie suddenly becoming clear.

Miroku folded his arms across his chest and nodded in agreement. "That does make sense. Shippo once tried to get through the well and couldn't. Perhaps it was because he wasn't strong enough even though he had shards of the jewel," he said. Miroku turned to Ali with a confused look. "How are you so knowledgeable about magic when you didn't even know your true nature until recently?" he asked. Ali shrugged.

"Even in Kagome's time, there are tons of books about magic, though most humans don't believe in it anymore. They still don't believe in my time, but there are still books about it—and I've read quite a few of them," she explained. "Plus, as I understand and discover some things about my powers, other things become ridiculously obvious."Ali clenched her trembling jaw tightly.

Sesshomaru spoke up for the first time since entering the hut partially to give Alithia a moment to control her emotions. "She may have been drawn to such books instinctively. From what her mother told me and the little Alithia herself remembers, I do not think that the glamour placed on her was complete. Perhaps it was her magical side attempting to prepare her for what she was to become," he said stoically, ignoring the lifted eyebrows from the others in the room.

"Isn't her mom dead?" Sango asked after she exchanged looks with her husband.

"My mother did die in my time period, but she is still alive in this one. I'm not allowed to see her because I could alter my own past by telling her about her future. From what Sesshomaru said about his encounter with my mother, I may have already done that," Ali explained.

Inuyasha frowned. "What do you mean, you already altered your past?" he asked.

Ali sighed. "I think my mother always intended for her spell of protection to end eventually. I believe that she was in such a rush when she cast the glamour that she accidently bound some of her memories to me as well. There's so much magic here that the spell evaporated and went back to her. So, she knows some of her future now and if I were to tell her more than she already knows, she may be tempted to change things," she elaborated. Inuyasha stared at her blankly and cocked his head to the side. Ali quickly turned and offered tea to Sesshomaru to give herself time to control her laughter. Inuyasha did not take being laughed at well.

Sesshomaru refused the tea Alithia offered and resisted the urge to snort. Sometimes Inuyasha made it abundantly clear that he had not inherited their father's brains. He folded his arms across his chest and stared into the fire. "If the man who manipulated Alithia is indeed one of Naraku's incarnations, then there is something I do not understand. Why did this 'Edward' wait so long to seduce Alithia?" he asked.

Ali felt her entire body go red as everyone looked at her. "She wasn't considered an adult where she grew up. They arrest men who take advantage of young girls—maybe Edward didn't want to attract attention to himself," Kagome said after a moment. Inuyasha snorted.

"That asshole wouldn't have cared. I mean, didn't she say he was involved with other women?" he asked. Everyone was quiet for several long minutes until Ali let out a strangled laugh.

"Inuyasha is right. Eddie _didn't_ care. He was only biding his time until—"Ali stopped and took a deep breath. She really felt stupid because now that she understood, it all seemed very clear. If nothing else, the way she had reacted to Eddie and the way she reacted to Sesshomaru—both emotionally and physically—were so blatantly different that magic _had_ to have been involved. "He was only biding his time until I was able to have children. He probably wouldn't have had a problem if I'd wound up pregnant, but I think he had other plans," she realized out loud and lowered her head so no one could see her tear-filled eyes.

Sesshomaru felt his eye tick in anger as the smell of Alithia's sorrow choked him. When he found this 'Eddie,' he would kill the bastard. And then he'd bring him back with Tensaiga and slowly kill him again. Very slowly. _*Father would never risk bringing a bastard like this back, but I do not care. He will suffer just as she has.*_ He thought darkly, and swallowed a growl as Inuyasha lifted an eyebrow at him. "What other plans could Eddie have had?" he asked to distract everyone from the way he was acting. Sesshomaru winced at the ironic smile that crossed Alithia's face when she turned to him.

"He has to be an incubus. I believe he was stealing my magic, which he literally couldn't do until I came of age. It wasn't until we became intimate that he started acting crazy," she said with another strangled laugh. "When I was with him, I always felt so sick and tired and _drained_. I get it now; he was feeding on my power. I wonder if my magical half was trying to tell me something when I—" Ali quickly stopped talking before she could mention anything about hurting herself. She finished lamely by saying "When I finally got away from him."

"At least he can't get to you while you're here," Inuyasha said before crossing the room and awkwardly patting Ali's shoulder.

Sesshomaru was surprised at the rage that boiled his blood when Alithia gave Inuyasha a shy smile of thanks. He didn't know why he cared if other people were able to cheer her up; it wasn't as if he wanted to be the only one who made her smile. Sesshomaru felt suffocated in the small hut, so he stood up and allowed his leg to brush against Alithia's hair as he walked behind her toward the doorway.

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><p><em>One week later<em>

Ali quietly slipped out of Kaede's hut as Inuyasha and Shippo began arguing yet again. It was probably rude to run out on her own birthday party, but she was feeling a tad overwhelmed. She'd told Kagome when her birthday was months ago and had promptly forgotten she'd done so. Needless to say, she'd been surprised that Kagome had thrown her a birthday party—especially considering all the things that had been revealed about her.

Ali tilted her head as a distant squeal caught her ears. She smiled as she recognized Jaken's distinctive wail and headed in the direction it had come from. She shook her head as the weeping toad passed her on the road and didn't even notice. A-un snorted a greeting at her, making Jaken's obliviousness all the funnier. As she approached the pond where she'd first spoken with Sesshomaru, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and then smoothed out her dark red shirt.

Sesshomaru felt a small smile cross his face as he felt Alithia approach the small pond that she seemed to like so much. He sighed to himself as he realized he was acting like his father. Again. _*What is about her that makes me do that?* _he wondered as Alithia silently sank down on the rock next to him. "Should you not be with my brother's family? They are holding the party for you," he said. Alithia blushed shyly.

"I don't think they'll notice my absence for awhile. Inuyasha and Shippo are fighting again," she answered with an exasperated smile. Sesshomaru snorted. Of course they were. Alithia sat beside him quietly as the sun set, an absentminded expression on her face. The fading light danced across her face and made his breath hitch in his throat. Alithia gave him an odd look when Sesshomaru stood up abruptly.

"I have brought something for you." He dropped a bundle into her lap and took a few steps away from her. Sesshomaru turned and stared at the sinking sun as Alithia untied the silky material. When she didn't say anything for a long time, he thought that he'd made a mistake in his choice of gift.

"Oh, Maru." He almost didn't catch her reverent gasp. "It's beautiful," she said softly as he turned back to face her. Sesshomaru frowned as she retied the bundle and set it aside. A moment later her arms were around his neck, and her face was burrowing into his throat.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Ali murmured into Sesshomaru's throat. A moment later, his arms wrapped around her and held her close. Ali let the tension drain from her shoulders as Sesshomaru's claws scrapped across her scalp gently. She hadn't felt so relaxed since she'd realized that she been fooled by Eddie.

"You like it then?" he asked softly. A happy sigh escaped her lips as she nodded. Sesshomaru stiffened his spine as her warm breath wisped across his throat, her lips just barely grazing his neck. It was confusingly erotic—he'd been pleasured by some of the most talented demonesses he could find and nothing he'd experienced with them compared to this moment. "What are you doing, Alithia?" he questioned huskily.

"You smell different than usual. I mean, you always smell like cedar wood, but I don't recognize this other smell. It's sorta like cinnamon but darker and sharper. I like it," Alithia murmured. Sesshomaru swallowed his pleasure. It was of no consequence to him whether or not she liked his scent.

"It is called Cassia. It is from the same family of herbs as cinnamon," he said taking a step back from her. "You're wearing a different scent than normal as well," he added before she could get upset about the distance he'd placed between them. He lifted her scarred wrist to his nose and breathed deeply.

"Yeah, this is one of my favorite body oils, but I don't have much of it. This is the first time since I've been here that I've worn it. It's called Patchouli," Ali said shyly. Sesshomaru smiled at her with his eyes as he kissed her wrist, his fang brushing across the skin. Ali felt a shiver go down her spine, and she blushed as he spoke.

"I am aware of what it is called," he said in a husky voice. "I will walk with you back to the village, but then I must go. My mother is hosting a festival of some sort at my home." Ali swallowed her laughter as Sesshomaru's eye ticked. He did let a smile cross his lips this time as he finally dropped her hand. It was funny how well she could read into his unspoken statements. He picked up her birthday present and began walking.

"Your mother doesn't listen very well, does she?" Ali stated as they walked back to the village, their hands occasionally brushing. Sesshomaru snorted.

"That would imply she listened at all to things that matter," he growled. Ali giggled and bumped her shoulder into his arm.

"I think mothers of sons are always a bit extreme. She just wants what's best for you. I mean, if I could have a son, then I'd do anything for him," Ali said quietly. Sesshomaru gently captured her wrist and turned her to face him.

"Why do you say if you could? Why would you not?" he asked. Ali shrugged and stared at the tip of his boot. Sesshomaru studied her long white ears and tilted head while he waited for an answer. "Alithia?" he ducked his head so he could see her face. She finally lifted her eyes to his, making his chest ache again at the sadness radiating off her.

"I shouldn't have children. When I was young—long before I met that _man_, I was hurt very badly, and I was told that getting pregnant could be dangerous for me. Besides, any child I conceived would only have _some_ human blood. From what I've heard from Kagome, carrying partially human children is dangerous enough for women who are perfectly healthy. I don't want to ever try. I couldn't bear it if my baby died," she said softly as she scrubbed a tear from under her eye.

Sesshomaru had always known what to say given any situation—it was part of being a noble—but he had no clue how to comfort Alithia right now, and it made him a little angry. He brushed his knuckles against her cheek gently and captured the hand that was wiping away tears. She gave him a shaky smile and tried to pull her hand from his. The demon lord growled softly and held on tighter, unaware of the petulant look that briefly crossed his face.

Ali was about to say something to Sesshomaru when he seemed to realize how strange he was acting and stepped away from her. She gave him a sweet smile and began walking, missing the way he sucked in air. A few minutes later they reached the edge of Inuyasha's village, and he silently handed her the birthday present before turning away. Ali finally screwed up the courage to ask him something she'd been debating silently all week and grabbed his arm.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I have a request. You can totally ignore it, but it would only help protect Rin. I know that's more important to you than anything. I was wondering—hoping, really—that you would allow me to travel with you the way Rin used to. I would understand if you said no—I mean you do have a reputation to think of. I just don't think it's safe for me to remain here. I mean, Eddie will find his way to this time period- he made it to mine, so there's no saying that he won't make it back- and he'll hear of my powers-which I can't control- sooner or later and considering how hard he tried to make me stick around before I left him, I have no doubt he'd kill everyone just to get to me. Kagome is just about ready to have her baby, and the others already have kids, and I do know some fighting techniques, and I don't—" Ali's babbling was cut short by Sesshomaru's hand covering her mouth and a light chuckle.

"Alithia, I think that is an excellent idea. I did promise your mother I would watch over you, and it would be much easier to do so if you were with me. One condition—you do not complain about how long or far we travel each day, and you will train with me in the mornings," he said softly.

Ali lifted an eyebrow. "That's two conditions," she said to stall him a little.

Sesshomaru let a small smile warm his face. "Indeed." He was actually disturbingly pleased that she'd caught that.

Ali shivered internally at that smile. She was certain that she'd die if he ever gave her a real one. Her eyes widened as his words registered. She didn't know Sesshomaru that well but knew no one could make him promise anything—which meant he really did want to watch over her. It confused her greatly—considering she'd just revealed that she had been involved with evil incarnate a week ago. Sesshomaru cupped her face with both hands and tilted her head up until she looked him in the eye.

"Alithia, you are not responsible for the actions of that man. He purposely deceived you knowing that as young as you were, you would feel as if you had no choice but to stay with him. I am proud that you found the strength to leave him at all—it shows that you still have a sense of yourself," the demon lord said. Ali blushed and lowered her eyelashes. Sesshomaru growled lightly. "Look at me, Alithia," he ordered softly. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he continued. "You are a kind and beautiful young woman who will succeed at whatever you choose to do. I will help you become strong so that no one will ever hurt you like that again," Sesshomaru declared.

Ali hadn't felt beautiful in a long time, not since her attempted suicide—but with the demon lord staring her in the eyes and speaking so gently, she did. She gave him an acknowledging nod and covered one of his hands with hers.

"If you do teach me your fighting methods, then I insist on teaching you something. It's only fair after all," she said and then gave him a stubborn look when he opened his mouth to protest that there was nothing she could possibly teach him. "I'm going to teach you how to speak, read, and write in the language I first spoke to you in. It's a complicated language for adults to learn as a secondary form of communication. Besides, English speaking demons and humans will eventually show up here, and it would be a tactical advantage if they don't know you understand them right away," she said determinedly.

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow at her near-bossy tone. "So, I teach you to fight and you teach me how to lie to my potential allies?" he questioned. Ali gave him a dirty look.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she growled at him, making him chuckle.

"I do. I was merely teasing you," Sesshomaru said and snapped his teeth at her when she stuck out her tongue. Ali squealed and took a step away from him, making him chuckle again.

"I will return to this spot when the sun rises. Be here with Jaken," Sesshomaru ordered and leapt up into the trees.


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN:**_ Because I'd heard rumors of this site deleting mature content fics, I moved this story to another site. however, that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment and I've had several people start following this story. so, until such a time as it's banned, my story will stay up. **AkibaraLatina** is one of the people who convinced me to make it stay here. Just in case it does get banned, it is also on Adult fanfiction dot net(one word)under the same authors name. because I haven't posted here in so long, you all acctually get two chapters! Enjoy, and thanks again to my beta reader **L.M. Avalon.**

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><p>Ali stretched sleepily as soft grey light filtered through the window she slept under and gave a jaw-cracking yawn. She stared at the ceiling of Kaede's hut and debated whether or not to get up or go back to sleep. *<em>Sleep. The blankets are warm<em>,* she decided and curled back into a ball with her nose and ears peeking out of the aforementioned blankets. A few moments later, the soft chirping of birds pierced her drowsy state and reminded her that Sesshomaru would be picking her and Jaken up soon.

Ali smiled happily and scrambled out of bed as quietly as possible. Fifteen minutes later, she laced a light brown cloak shut and then rolled her blankets up. Ali picked up the grayish brown bag she'd made and slipped out of the hut on bare feet. Just before she reached the small building that served as a livery stable for the entire village, Inuyasha slipped out of the shadows.

"Why are you running away again? Kagome worries about you when you disappear like this," he said gruffly. Ali hitched her bag onto her shoulders under the cloak.

"I'm not running. I'm going to be traveling with your brother for awhile. I think it will be safer, especially for Kagome. I have this feeling something very bad is going to happen soon," Ali murmured softly. She knew that Inuyasha would do anything to protect his wife. Inuyasha stepped closer to her and awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"You can come back whenever you get sick of that stuck-up bastard," Inuyasha said as he tweaked a strand of hair. Impulsively, Ali gave the hanyou a quick hug, smiling when she felt him go stiff. She stepped away and flicked his nose.

"Relax; I'm not coming on to you. You're like a kid brother," she teased gently, laughing when he turned red and growled at her. "Thank you again for watching over me, Inuyasha. I'm sure that your mom would be proud of you," she said softly and then slipped into the stables. Ali had to smile at the small, shivering bundle that was curled into a pathetic ball in the corner of a stall. Jaken had taken refuge out here after being teased by Sango's children, claiming that the hut smelled too bad and that it was beneath him to sleep with humans anyway.

Ali picked up Jaken and nearly tossed him into the water trough—then it occurred to her that the longer she let him sleep, the less she'd have to hear him plot her demise. She very gently stuck him in a burlap sack with another blanket and set him down to saddle Ah-Un. Five minutes later, she led Ah-Un out into the dawn and nearly skipped down the path to where she and Sesshomaru had parted ways the evening before.

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to tap his foot as he waited in the shade of a tree for Jaken and Alithia and settled for a deep sigh. He should just leave her here. She did such strange things to his mind and his body. *_Once that fool of a servant shows up, I will leave. She will be fine here_,* Sesshomaru decided. A moment later, he saw Alithia leading Ah-Un down the road, Jaken nowhere in sight. He stepped into her path to ask her where Jaken was when he spotted the toad demon sleeping in a sack that was tied to Ah-Un. With a growl, he reached for his servant, freezing in place as Alithia's long fingers wrapped around his wrist gently.

"Please don't wake him up just yet. He's so much more pleasant like this," Alithia said, and then a wicked smile curved her lips.

Sesshomaru felt all the air leave his lungs at her expression, and he pictured himself doing things to her that could only be described as_ very naughty. _*_She would run away from me if she knew what I was thinking. I doubt that bastard was gentle with her. And why in Kami's name am I thinking such things about her? She's just—her._* Sesshomaru ruthlessly squashed all the dirty images running through his head and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"What are you going to do to him?" he asked. Alithia's smirk turned even naughtier, and it took every ounce of self control he possessed not to kiss her.

"You'll see. But be warned, he's going to scream like a little girl," she said. Sesshomaru snorted and began walking down the road before he did something stupid.

Three hours passed in comfortable silence before Sesshomaru realized that she only held Ah-Un's reigns. "Alithia, where is that pathetic creature you bought two weeks ago?" He wasn't surprised to see a blush darken her cheeks at his question.

"That 'pathetic creature' is named Shotaru," Alithia retorted, hand on her hip, "And he is with Inuyasha's friend Jinenji. He got sick, and I had no idea what to do with him. Besides—" Alithia flushed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I don't know how to ride horses." Sesshomaru just shook his head at her. He wasn't at all surprised—he could imagine her adopting every injured animal within a five hundred mile radius if she could.

"Why did you buy him then?" he asked.

"People give me things when I save them, and I can't possibly carry everything myself and to refuse any of it would be a huge insult. Most of them are so poor that they really can't afford to give away anything. I was going to buy a pack mule, but I couldn't just leave Shotaru with that horrible man," she explained. Before Sesshomaru could say anything, they heard Jaken mumbling as he began to wake up.

Ali smiled evilly and stopped Ah-Un. She handed the reins to Sesshomaru and went to the dragon's side where Jaken slept in his bag, drool dampening the front of it. Ali crouched and leaned into Jaken's personal space so that their faces were mere centimeters apart. Clamping her long ears firmly to her skull, Ali waited for the toad to wake up. A moment later the toad blinked sleepily and yawned. "Hi," she said. Jaken screamed and flailed about pathetically as he got tangled in the blankets and bag.

Sesshomaru felt his lips twitch as Ali loomed over Jaken's slumbering form. The half-useless toad deserved to be tormented with the way he constantly muttered unkind things about Alithia. When Jaken did scream like a little girl as promised, Sesshomaru couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. Fortunately neither of them noticed as Jaken managed to extract himself from his little prison and begin yelling at Alithia. Sesshomaru wasn't so amused when the two of them were still arguing an hour later—it was worse than when Jaken fought with Rin. He gave a deep snarl and whirled around, glaring mostly at Jaken.

When Sesshomaru turned back to the road, Ali stuck her tongue out at Jaken, smug that she'd won the argument.

"Alithia."

Ali felt her neck flush at the mild scold in Sesshomaru's tone. How the hell did he know she was still being childish? He wasn't even looking.

Ignoring Jaken, Ali darted to Sesshomaru's side and resisted the urge to take his hand. "How long until we get to your castle?" she asked. He glared. "I'm not complaining. I genuinely want to know. If we arrive early enough, I was going to start your English lessons today. I'll need a book, preferably one of the ones you read as a child," Ali said cheerfully.

Sesshomaru couldn't believe she was serious about teaching him a human language. He had assumed she would forget about it, or that she'd only been joking. He snorted. He should have known better, especially with that stubborn look she'd given him. He decided to tease her again and felt a smirk cross his face. "Remind me why this Sesshomaru should lower himself to speaking a human language?" he asked coolly. He didn't expect the flash of hurt that crossed her face. She buried it well and lifted her chin.

"It's better to learn it now from someone you trust than later from someone who'll be too scared to correct you. If you don't learn English, you run the risk of needing a translator, and they might misinterpret something by accident. Even worse, they lie to you because they have their own agendas. They could also not tell you everything for fear of incurring your wrath." Alithia held up one finger for every point she made. Sesshomaru was rather impressed with the logic, but he was having fun now.

"Hnn. Perhaps I will not have to deal with humans. I might die before this language becomes part of this land," he said. It was hard not to laugh at the exasperated look on her face.

"Of course you'll still be alive. You're the most powerful demon in Japan. I rather got the impression you're damn near impossible to kill. And you already deal with humans, Maru. I know that you don't buy Rin's gifts from a demon village—you would never risk something demonic possessing her," Alithia retorted. Sesshomaru lifted his nose.

"You are correct in that it is difficult to kill me. I do intend to live a long time, so perhaps I will learn it. However, you are forgetting something—what makes you think that this Sesshomaru trusts you?" he asked haughtily. Alithia tilted her head in confusion.

"You haven't killed me. I've lost control of my power several times now, and then there's that whole whore-of-your-enemy's-son thing. I know you trust me because—" He must have made a sound because she stopped talking before shouting, "You're teasing me!" Alithia stamped her foot and puffed out her cheeks, a blush staining them red. Sesshomaru couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and began chuckling. Alithia folded her arms across her chest, and her bottom lip jutted out in an adorable pout.

"Do not be angry with me. I was only teasing you a little," Sesshomaru said between chuckles. He couldn't stop laughing at her expression—every time he got some semblance of control, he would look at her and lose it again. It only served to make her blush harder, and she finally swung a fist at his chest, which he easily caught, holding tighter when she tried to pull her hand from his. Unable to pull from his grasp, she stuck her tongue out at him. Sesshomaru snapped his teeth at her just like he had the night before. She gave a soft squeal of surprise and nearly tripped as she stepped backwards.

Sesshomaru gave one last chuckle and kissed her knuckles but didn't let go of her hand. They walked that way until they stopped for lunch, their fingers interlacing at some point.

Jaken had been shocked to see Sesshomaru flirting with the half-human girl and even more so to see him laugh. He was about to add it to the list of unusual behavior when he saw the tender way his master kissed the girl's fingers. *_He's in love with her! If I should say anything, though, I fear he'd kill me. Best keep this to myself_,* the toad thought and resolved to keep up with pretending to not like the half-goddess creature. When they finally stopped for lunch, Sesshomaru disappeared to Kami only knew where. Jaken turned around from tying Ah-Un's reigns to a picket line and let out a strangled shriek.

Ali snapped her head from where she was shoving her cloak into her bag at Jaken's screech, her hand reaching for the handle of her scythe in case of trouble. All she saw, however, was Jaken pointing at her chest.

"Put that back where you got it from! Lord Sesshomaru will kill the both of us if he sees you wearing that!" Jaken ordered, large beads of sweat rolling down his head. Ali cocked her head at Jaken in confusion.

"Sesshomaru gave this to me. Why would he be angry that I was wearing it?" Ali questioned. The "IT' in question was silver colored armor. From the high, Chinese style collar and capped sleeves to just above her bellybutton the armor was pressed into a herringbone pattern, and from her naval down, the armor mimicked flower petals that ended at her knees.

Jaken gaped like a fish. If he'd had any doubt about what Sesshomaru felt for the girl, he didn't have any doubts now. He'd been with Sesshomaru when the demon lord had ordered it made—and had in fact given the blacksmith some of his own youkai energy and his hair to put in the armor. Jaken spluttered helplessly for a long moment and then resigned himself to death. If he told the creature in front of him what Sesshomaru had done, then she'd ask the demon lord about it, and he would die. On the other hand, he would die the moment Sesshomaru realized the significance of his actions and that Jaken hadn't said anything to him about what he'd done. Jaken waved away the girls concern and began eating rapidly—he might as well enjoy the little bit of life he had left.

_Two hours later_

Choutsuki paused with her fingertip on the spine of a book and smiled. She could tell that Sesshomaru had come home by the slight pressure in her chest. The smile faded from her lips as she realized that his youkai energy wasn't exerting its usual pressure. She was afraid he'd gotten injured again and hurried to the large courtyard, bracing herself for the worst.

Choutsuki stared at her future daughter-in-law in something akin to shock. She had assumed that it would take far longer than this for her son to realize that he was bound to the girl, much less admit it. But less than fifteen feet from her stood Alithia wearing armor made from her son's Youkai energy.

It was a custom among powerful Taiyokai to give their betrothed a powerful artifact meant to protect them or meant for them to become more powerful. She'd received the Meido stone from Sesshomaru's father as his tribute. However, giving someone something made from one's own energy—it was nearly unheard of and usually only done by those in love. Choutsuki rather hoped that her son had come to his senses and that he'd confessed to the girl. She pouted behind her fan as she realized that nothing of the sort had happened, though there were signs that confessions were not far off.

It suddenly hit Choutsuki that Sesshomaru and Alithia looked very much like a Lord and Lady returned from a trip abroad. *_Which they will eventually. The only problem being his stubbornness—I'll have to change his mind about pure bloodedness. Subtly, of course. It won't do have him angry with me._*

Ali stood quietly next to Sesshomaru and waited for him to finish speaking to the guard at the gates about increasing security after the party guests had left. She didn't dare wander off—she hadn't forgotten Sesshomaru's warning from last time. *_And now that they know about my connection to Naraku, I imagine they'll be more inclined to kill me,_* she thought with a shiver. Sesshomaru's knuckles brushed hers just as she became aware that someone was watching them. She swiveled her ears looking for the sound that had alerted her to someone else's presence. When she realized it was Sesshomaru's mother, she turned and bowed to the Lady of the Western Lands. As Ali stood up, she saw that Lady Choutsuki was giving her a strange look.

"Everyone will need to be there, Harusai. I will speak with the whole guard at once as to the reason we are increasing the guard watch," Sesshomaru said in response to the confused look his captain gave him. Alithia gently touched his arm, and his hand covered hers and gave it a gentle squeeze to acknowledge that he knew she wanted his attention. After dismissing Harusai, he turned to her. "Alithia?" he questioned.

"Your mom has a weird look on her face. I think something is wrong with her," Alithia said softly. Sesshomaru looked up and found his mother staring at them from behind her fan, one eyebrow hiked to her hairline. He sighed under his breath—he should have known she'd make a big deal out of the gift he'd given Alithia. Sesshomaru turned to Alithia and gave her a small smile, his own eyebrow hiking at the way her breath caught at his expression.

"My mother is fine; she is merely admiring your armor," he said softly.

Choutsuki almost felt sorry for her son. He had fallen hard for the half-goddess and hadn't even realized it. The fact that his demonic aura was calmer with her there was proof of that—she guessed that the red thread of fate was responsible for making him relax the tiniest fraction. She could only imagine what her sometimes thick-headed son would be like when he acknowledged his feelings. Choutsuki had to smile as Alithia gave her a concerned look after rising from her bow. The girl immediately touched Sesshomaru's arm, making Choutsuki take a step forward. No one was allowed to touch her son—his idea entirely. He did not like being touched by those weaker than him—he thought the taint of lesser beings encouraged attacks upon his person. Choutsuki got her third surprise of the morning when Sesshomaru touched Alithia's hand and after looking at his own mother in irritation, smiled down at the girl. So maybe she didn't feel so sorry for him after all, the rude brat.

An hour later, Choutsuki was back in the library with Alithia and her son. As she returned a book to a shelf, her son suddenly spoke.

"You are not a whore." Choutsuki's jaw dropped at Sesshomaru's abrupt statement. She turned to scold him for making such an obvious and crude statement. Alithia lifted her startled gaze from her book to look at Sesshomaru.

"What?"

"This morning, you said you were a whore. This is untrue," Sesshomaru said mildly from the chair he sat in casually across from the girl. Alithia dropped her gaze from Sesshomaru and turned her head away.

"I might as well be," she muttered. Choutsuki wondered at the bitterness in the girl's voice even as Sesshomaru reached across the table and captured Alithia's chin with a gentle firmness that told Choutsuki he'd done it before.

"Look at me, Alithia." The girl shook her head and closed her eyes. Sesshomaru growled lowly. "Look at me." Choutsuki tilted her head as the girl slowly obeyed.

"I will only say this once, so listen carefully. ** NOT. **a whore. That man lied, manipulated, and abused you in ways that sicken me. You were only a frightened child," Sesshomaru said softly. Choutsuki shook her head. Sesshomaru was not subtle, even when in denial. He locked eyes with Alithia. "If I **ever** hear you call yourself a whore again, I **will** spank you." Alithia's eyes filled with unshed tears, and her bottom lip quivered. Choutsuki didn't know what she expected Alithia to say, but what came out of the girls mouth probably surprised the girl most of all.

"You promise?" Alithia murmured sensually. As soon as the words were uttered, she jerked from Sesshomaru's suddenly limp hand and buried her face in her hands. "Can we pretend I did not just proposition you?" she asked Sesshomaru without lifting her head. He dropped back into his seat and made a noise of consent.

Choutsuki shook her head and left the two near-lovers alone. It wasn't like they'd notice her absence.

_Five days later_

Alithia rolled her shoulders to get the lingering kink out of her upper back—it still ached from that morning's practice. She sighed and turned to ask Sesshomaru what their travel plans for the next few days were and caught him staring at her. *_Eddie used to look at me like that_,* she thought with a jolt.

Sesshomaru stared at the lithe young girl as she stretched. He was beginning to regret agreeing to train her—being this aware of her body was not doing good things to his sanity. She turned to him before he could control his expression, so he wasn't very surprised when her white ears flattened against her skull as she took a step back. Her face went white with terror, and she spun and ran down the hill, tripping in her haste to get away from him. He gave a silent sigh as Jaken began shouting after Alithia's retreating form.

"Jaken let her go. We will go find her in two days if she does not return," he ordered and began gathering the things Alithia had left behind. He ignored the ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach as he put her armor into a bag. She'd been headed toward a village—she'd be fine.

The next morning, Alithia had convinced herself she'd only imagined the look Sesshomaru had given her the night before—she was half human, and she was well aware of how he felt about half-breeds. She sighed and wandered through the small seaside village looking for something to eat. She ignored the blatant stares from the men—she would be human in eight days, and men always stared. She'd gotten used to it, but it was really annoying.

Suddenly the street grew quiet, and Ali turned, a sinking sensation filling her stomach. *_Eddie_.* She was proud of the way she managed to contain her panic as the man she very nearly married strode toward her. As he did, she saw the same look he'd always given her before he'd seduce her. Now Ali was completely confused—for the look Sesshomaru had given her last night was similar to the one on Eddie's face now, but completely different. Why had she run from him?

"Ali! I am so glad I found you! You have no idea how worried I've been. I'm glad you're okay," he said in English, his hands reaching for her. She stepped back from him and slapped his hand away. Eddie's eyes narrowed in anger for a moment before he smiled broadly at her. "My dearest, whatever is the matter? I am here to take care of you—you don't have to be afraid anymore," he purred. Alithia growled at him.

"LIAR!" she snarled. Seeing him brought up all the hurt and anger she felt about their supposed relationship. "You LIED to me, Eddie. Or should I say Onigumo?" she spat. Eddie's face filled with false confusion.

"What are you talking about, dear one?" he asked. Ali stiffened her spine.

"Do NOT call me that. You have lost any right to talk to me in such an intimate way—I know that you were stealing my magic, and I know that you were trying to corrupt me with a shard of the Shikon jewel, and I know your father was Naraku," she hissed. Eddie's smile vanished, and he grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip.

"Come with me, and we will discuss things in private, shall we?" he ground out. Ali really did not want to be alone with him but didn't think running was an option—there was no doubt in her mind that he'd kill everyone who helped her. She allowed him to drag her into a large house that jutted out from the side of a rocky hill, grunting when he tossed her into a small room with a bed. She noted that one wall was actually part of the hill—if she needed to escape later, maybe she could find a hidden tunnel or something of the like. So she wouldn't give away her plans, she focused on her hip. It ached from where it hit a bed post when the bastard had tossed her into the room. She really did not want to think about why he'd chosen to imprison her in a bedroom.

"So, how did you figure it out?" he asked, pacing the small room. Ali smirked.

"Inuyasha and my great-great-aunt. You didn't think I'd end up in this time period and never encounter them, did you? Rather stupid of you," she said. She didn't see his fist until it connected with her mouth.

"Shut up, you stupid whore!" he snarled. Ali wiped blood from her lip and lifted her chin.

"So you show your true colors. I won't give you back the shard, you know. I won't even tell you where it is," she said defiantly. Eddie glared at her and grabbed her by the collar of her kimono and tossed her into the rocky wall. She slid down it with a whimper.

"Oh, I think you will te—" He paused as the kimono parted and exposed her right shoulder. He pounced across the room and grabbed Ali's chin and wrenched it to the side so he could inspect her throat. "WHO DID THIS TO YOU?" he roared and jammed a finger into the spot Sesshomaru had licked on two different occasions.

Ali lifted her chin. "The Demon Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru." She was satisfied to see the flash of fear that entered Eddie's eyes at that revelation. His expression turned ugly.

"Oh, dearest. Such a cold individual could never bring you the pleasure I could. Marry me and let me prove it. I'll forgive your indiscretion this once—I know you only fell into his bed because you missed me so," Eddie cooed. Ali felt sick, but she gave him a look of utter loathing.

"Go to hell, you bastard. You're the one who cheated on me and took my innocence. I'll never marry you," she ground out. Eddie glared at her.

"Come now, don't be difficult," he said and caressed her cheek. Ali could see that this could quickly end with her getting raped, and she fought down her panic.

"Wouldn't you rather be married and avoid the stigma that comes with being a concubine?" he murmured sensually. Ali desperately looked for a way to avoid what was coming next. A smirk curved her lips as she found the perfect thing to seriously piss him off.

"I'd rather be his whore than your wife." She waited for him to get the reference to the one movie he hated most in the world. Rage filled his face when he did, and a moment later, Ali saw stars as he grabbed one of her ears and twisted it hard before dragging her onto the bed, tying her down spread-eagle.

"You are going to regret your decision before night falls, you stupid girl," he hissed as he yanked her kimono open further. He straddled her stomach and a black blade materialized in his hand. "If you scream loud enough, I might go easy on you," he spat and slid the thinnest part of the blade over her collarbone.

"I'll never give you the satisfaction," she ground out. He smiled wickedly and true to her word, Ali didn't scream as he slid the blade under her skin and peeled away a layer of it. As Eddie stared down at the delicious morsel beneath him, he wondered what he was going to do to her now that the demon lord's mark no longer marred her body. He thought of the path that brought him to this moment and hoped to draw inspiration from his past.

_1542, unnamed village_

"Father's home!"

The scrawny boy lifted his chin and touched his mother's trembling hand. He wouldn't let the stupid old bastard who had sired him touch his mother ever again. He might only be six years old, but he would take on the drunken louse any time. His father stumbled into the hut and dropped a pair of pathetically skinny rabbits that had already been gnawed on by something.

"Make me something to eat, Onna," the man muttered drunkenly and flopped across the bed.  
>"Yes, Onigumo-sama," the woman whispered and began cleaning the rabbits.<p>

"Oi, who are you looking at, boy?" growled out Onigumo as he noticed the hateful stare of his son. The boy glared at him and deliberately snorted.

"Ain't look'n' at nothing," he muttered sullenly and, a moment later, received the beating of his life. The boy swore on his life to see his father dead someday.

_1596, Naraku's Castle_

Naraku smoothed a crease from the clay form he was creating. Inuyasha's pathetic attempts to destroy him were beginning to get annoying, but he had a plan that was sure to succeed. Naraku smirked down at the clay replica of the jewel's protector. Now he only had to kill the reincarnation of Kikyo, and his plan would be ready to implement. He glared at the door as he sensed someone on the other side. When he recognized Kanna's aura, he was more than surprised. She'd never disturbed him before when he was working in this room.

"You may come in Kanna," he said quietly. The small figure shuffled into the room silently and held up her mirror to show an old man attempting to get past the barrier around his castle. Knowing Kanna had a reason for showing him this, Naraku sent one of his puppets to deal with the intruder.

"What are you doing, human?" the puppet asked. The old human turned around and glared.

"Hello, Father," the man sneered. Naraku lifted an eyebrow deep in the castle. This man was far too old to be his son—unless he was referring to the weakling Onigumo. His puppet snorted in contempt.

"What makes you think I am your father?"

The man snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "I was named Onigumo after you. I'm your only living child. The others were too weak to avenge mother. She died because of the last time you beat her. It took me a long time to find you, and I had intended to kill you," the younger Onigumo stated.

"Oh, what happened to your revenge plan?" Naraku's puppet asked. The man shrugged.

"I realized that bitch was weak, too. She could have left you or married someone after your disappearance," the man stated calmly. Naraku's puppet chuckled. This spawn of Onigumo's was more ruthless than he was. Naraku liked him.

"Come with me, and I will give you something better than revenge." The puppet turned and led the human into the castle. Once there, Naraku destroyed the puppet and sat across from the old man, studying him for a long moment.

"If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?" he asked. The man answered with a swiftness that told Naraku that he'd thought about it many times before.

"Eternal youth. Being this old is a pain in the ass," the man grumped. Naraku chuckled.

"I can fix that for you, but it will cost you your soul," Naraku said softly. The man shrugged and spread his arms. Naraku detached one of his more annoying and useless demons and fused it with the man's body, and an ugly purple light filled the room. When the light had faded, a young man sat across from Naraku, and when he saw his unwrinkled hands, he began to laugh maniacally.

"Take this gift to make you stronger. Use it wisely." Naraku handed over a shard of the Shikon jewel. "I would like you to exercise caution—there is an annoying whelp that might kill you for that gift," he warned the man.

_1996_

Young Onigumo leaned against the wall of the house and growled lowly. He'd waited five hundred years to do this—why the hell should he settle for a mere shard when he could have the whole jewel? As the sun rose and illuminated the yard, the people inside the house began moving about. Pressing his ear against the wall, he could just make out the birthday wishes that were being expressed to the Shikon jewel protector. He snorted. Humans never ceased to amaze him with the ridiculous things they chose to celebrate.

Now, how was he going to get the girl alone so he could take what belonged to him? A fat cat wandered out of the house, and Onigumo smirked. When he'd told Naraku he wanted eternal youth, a powerful, thoroughly evil incubus had devoured his soul. Onigumo wasn't sure why Naraku had gotten rid of it—playing with mortal women was so much fun. Through dreams, he could see what women wanted. Then his demon half would create elaborate illusions with which to enthrall them. Calling on this power now, he led the cat into the dark well house and slipped in after it, holding on to it tightly.

A few moments later, he heard a young boy's voice calling for the cat. He growled in annoyance and hid under the steps that led down to the well itself. It was cramped under there, and the cat hissed and scratched him just as the Shikon jewel protector descended the steps. Onigumo slammed his fist into the ground as the well emitted a pale pink light and the aura of the girl vanished. The little boy ran off crying for his mother, and Onigumo quickly left the well house and hid in a tree, waiting for the miko to return. Three days later when she did return, she only had a fragment of the jewel.

_Several months later_

Onigumo couldn't believe his ears. Had that damn bitch really wished the jewel out of existence?! He growled. A moment later, a smirk crossed his face. She had made her wish on an incomplete jewel. That was sure to wreck some sort of havoc. But still, the very fact that she'd do something like that with something that belonged to him meant that the little bitch would have to be punished.

_1999_

Onigumo couldn't believe his ill luck as he saw the miko jump into the glowing well again and vanish. He waited for three months before he realized that the miko wasn't coming back.

_2067_

Sixty-eight years had led to this moment. He would have his revenge against the little bitch who'd dared to try and wish the jewel out of existence. The miko herself had yet to return to this era, but her brother had produced a son and then a grandson, neither of whom were to his taste. The great granddaughter was more than he could have ever hoped for—she was half Tennin. It was all due to him, for he'd purposely driven wedges in the family. The girl had a strange name—Ali, but no matter. She would suit his needs well. Now all he had to do was bring her under his complete and utter control.

Stepping onto the rain-slicked road, the moment he saw headlights was all it took for the car to flip. However, the Tennin managed to get her whelp hidden and used the last of her power to injure him badly enough that he couldn't search for the girl.

_2074_

It had taken him eight years to find the little half-Tennin, and he was actually very pleased by the state he found her in—half his job had been done for him. Slowly, he convinced the girl that he was the only one who could take care of her.

_October 2078 _

Onigumo touched his burning cheek where Ali had just slapped him and gaped as she walked out the door. He didn't know what had gone wrong—she'd been under his control for over a year now. What the hell had made her rebel?

"You can't leave me, bitch. I will find you, and you WILL be sorry when I do," he vowed.

_2079_

It always came back to the damn well with this family. Onigumo was about to go in to the well house and kill the damn old man who'd been able to keep him off the shrine grounds until tonight when he heard the howling come from the house. He froze momentarily. How in Kami's name did a Taiyokai get by his senses? There were none left—he'd seen to that himself. He growled and ignored it for the moment and created an illusion of a giant chicken and destroyed the well house. He shoved a long blade through the chest of the old man as Ali fell backwards into the well.

He gave a scream of rage as Ali slipped through his fingers yet again, but before he could actually kill the old man, a large white paw tried to crush him. Onigumo cursed, and not having any other choice, he jumped into the well. It wasn't as if he could fight the creature without his jewel shard.

_1607_

Onigumo panted and stood above Ali's trembling body. The defiant little bitch wouldn't scream for him, no matter how hard he beat her. Why hadn't he tried harder to find her last year? Now she had all sorts of unhealthy ideas, he could just tell. And how had she managed to get in the bed of the Taiyokai who had been at the shrine? He recognized the scent of the demon from the shrine. It didn't matter. The Taiyokai would likely not be taking her back after he was through with her. Onigumo sighed. Now if she would only scream, they could get to the fun part.

Pacing the room as he waited for Ali to wake up, he listened to the call of the gulls. He stopped dead in his tracks and smirked, then left the room. A few moments later, he returned to the room with several buckets. The girl slowly woke up and glared at him, lifting her chin defiantly. Ali may not have screamed when he had beaten her, but she did when he poured the buckets of sea water over her. When she passed out, he left to bathe. There was no point in tormenting her if she was unconscious. Besides, it wasn't as fun.

_Two hours later_

Onigumo pushed aside the bowl of rice with a contented sigh. He had bathed and eaten, so now it was time to tend to Ali's wounds. He couldn't have her die on him after all—she was an endless source of energy.

"Tend to the creature's wounds and then bring her to me," he ordered a servant. Only moments later, the same servant slunk back into the room, trembling with fear. "I gave you a simple order—is it that hard to follow?" he growled. The servant soiled himself and began panting.

"Forgive me, milord. It seems she has… escaped."

"WHAT?!" Onigumo killed the servant and everyone within the house before his rage faded.


	10. Chapter 10

AN:Thanks to my beta reader, L.M. Avalon. Without her awesome beta skills, I'd have another crappy fic. (my bleach fic makes me cringe. I can't believe I wrote that crap.)

* * *

><p>Sesshomaru sliced through another demon with a savage growl. He'd killed nearly one hundred with his bare claws, but he still felt—agitated. He'd been feeling like that since midmorning the previous day. *<em>It is as if there is some impending doom about to fall upon my head<em>,* he thought as he flicked blood from his claws. He began to pace, unaware that he was doing so. He did not like this uneasy feeling that made him so jumpy. *_Where is Jaken? He should have returned by now_.* Just as Sesshomaru thought this, he heard Jaken's panicked screeching.

_One hour earlier_

Jaken rubbed his aching head as he walked toward the village. Sesshomaru had been in an especially foul mood since Ali had run from them, and Jaken had suffered for it. Jaken didn't blame his lord though—he was unaware that he loved the silly creature and was hurt that she'd felt the need to flee from him. Jaken had to wonder what had made her run off in the first place, but he didn't dare ask Sesshomaru. He'd only get kicked. Jaken heaved a sigh and prayed he could find some sign of Ali here so he could talk her into returning.

"Kappa, is your name Jaken?" a deep voice asked, startling Jaken. Jaken turned and bowed to the snake demon.

"Yes, my lord," Jaken murmured to the ground. This demon was a great deal older than Sesshomaru and nearly as powerful.

"Where is Sesshomaru of the Western Lands? There is someone looking for him," the snake said. Jaken warily stood upright and eyed the snake, who smiled at him in approval. "Well, I see that Sesshy hasn't lowered his guard much. Forgive me, my name is Akishino. I was Lady Choutsuki's physician when she carried Sesshy," he clarified. Jaken gave a sigh of relief and lifted his chin.

"Lord Sesshomaru sent me here for some supplies. He is in the forest as he is not feeling sociable at the moment. Who is looking for him?"

Lord Akishino gestured for Jaken to follow him into a nearby hut. Jaken felt all the air leave his lungs in a rush as he saw Ali, who looked very battered. "I take it you know this half-demon," the snake demon said when he saw Jaken's skin turn grey with shock. Jaken didn't bother to correct his assumption that Ali was a half-demon—he'd been under the impression that her true nature was a secret.

"Yes. She is our traveling companion. Do you know what happened to her?" Jaken did not look forward to the beating he was going to get and thought it might be less severe if he knew what had happened to Ali. Akishino shook his head.

"I returned to Nihon last week, and I was camping about half a day outside this village. Late last night, she stumbled into my tent and collapsed. She's only woken enough to say you are Sesshy's servant. I can tell you that if she were human, she'd be dead right now. She was severely beaten and poisoned. She has five broken fingers, one broken rib, two cracked ribs, and four bruised ones. She also has two black eyes and a broken nose, as well as a large wound on her shoulder. There are other minor scrapes, but those are the most serious. I was surprised she didn't have internal bleeding as well," Akishino said and gently wiped sweat from Ali's forehead. She tossed her head back and forth, clearly in the throes of a nightmare. Jaken winced. He felt bad for the girl even though she teased him a lot. Broken and bruised ribs were not fun.

"I will go get Lord Sesshomaru," he said and scrambled out of the hut and back to Sesshomaru, calling out his name when he got close to their encampment.

"Jaken. Calm yourself," Sesshomaru ordered crossly. Jaken took a deep breath and bowed until his forehead touched the ground.

"I found the girl," he began. Sesshomaru snorted.

"Then why is she not here?" he asked coolly. Jaken braced his body for the blows that were sure to follow.

"She is injured and ill. I left her in the care of a snake demon named Lord Akishino," he said. When he wasn't injured, Jaken cautiously lifted his head. He gulped at the rage and fear fighting for dominance in Sesshomaru's eyes.

"What happened to her? Did she use her powers again?" Sesshomaru asked evenly and began walking. Jaken leapt to his feet and followed him.

"Lord Akishino thinks she was beaten," Jaken said and listed off the injuries.

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw tightly. What in Kami's name had that stupid girl done now? *_She shouldn't have run off without her armor. She knows Inuyasha well enough that she should not be wandering around without protection_,* he grumbled mentally. It only took a few moments to reach the village.

Akishino removed the bandage from the girl's shoulder and winced. Who had she pissed off enough that they would remove a layer of skin with a poisoned blade? He sighed as she gave a small whimper. She was no ordinary half-demon—she felt as powerful as a Taiyoukai. Gently as he could, Akishino cleansed the wound. He froze as the girl's magnificent purple eyes opened, and her head turned to the door.

"Sesshomaru?" she whispered and pushed herself into a sitting position. Akishino turned to greet the demon but saw no one there. He frowned and turned back to the girl just as she stood and took several wobbly steps toward the doorway.

"Miss, you need to lie back down. You're very sick," Akishino said gently and placed a gentle hand on her elbow.

The girl pulled from his grasp and pulled her yukata up so that she was decent, then staggered out the door. Akishino was a few steps behind her and had every intention of carrying her back—she was too weak to defend herself in this village of full blooded demons. When he arrived outside, he saw her drop her forehead into the fur of Sesshomaru's Mokomoko. When Sesshomaru cupped the back of her head instead of shoving her away, Akishino lifted an eyebrow. Sesshomaru hated to be touched.

A few seconds later, Sesshomaru shook his head in response to something she said and scooped her into his arms. Akishino gave him a bow and showed him where to put the girl. He didn't miss the way Sesshomaru subconsciously trailed a finger over her unbruised cheek.

"Hello, Sesshy," he greeted, hiding a smirk at the fierce glare that the demon sent him. Akishino couldn't believe how strong Makoto's only son was—if his aura was any indication, then Sesshomaru had surpassed Makoto in pure demonic power. *_Three hundred years between visits to that old guy is entirely too long_,* he thought.

"So, what does my old friend think of you being more powerful than him?" Akishino asked as he began tending to the girl's wounds.

"I would not know. Father has been dead for over two hundred years," Sesshomaru said acidly and then pushed Akishino's limp hands away from the girl. Akishino could hardly believe his ears. Makoto was dead?

"I'm sorry. What happened?" he asked Sesshomaru and allowed the younger demon to continue tending the girl's wound. Sesshomaru's jaw clenched tightly and a low growl left his lips. The girl placed a gentle hand on Sesshomaru's knee and let her eyes shut with exhaustion.

"He fell in love with a human princess and died protecting her and their newborn son," Sesshomaru said shortly. If Sesshomaru had declared that the sky was green and that the moon was just a rock, Akishino would have been less shocked.

He decided that asking more questions about Makoto would be unwise and concentrated on healing the girl. "How is it that a half-demon girl came to be your traveling companion?" he asked Sesshomaru.

"She is half Tennin, not half demon. She is related to the shikon no tama protector," Sesshomaru said and removed the girl's hand from his knee. Akishino stared at the girl and sighed. It was no wonder she'd been beaten—Tennin magic was powerful stuff and something people feared. He'd thought all the half-tennins Tennins had been wiped out centuries ago. He could see why Jaken hadn't corrected his assumption that the girl was a half-demon.

"I can't keep calling her girl. What's her name?"

"Alithia. She does not like to be addressed as a lady, though, and prefers to be called Ali," Sesshomaru said quietly as he covered the now sleeping girl.

Akishino blinked in surprise. *_Who ever named her must be very old and have traveled a lot. Alithia is a Greek name. I should ask her about it when she is better. That is, if Sesshy will let me within five feet of her_,* he thought wryly as he watched Sesshomaru wait for Ali to wake up.

_The next morning_

It was the smell of food that woke Ali up. As she blinked away the blurry sensation that accompanies morning, she saw a scaly hand reach for her head. She knocked it away and rolled to the side. Grabbing Tensaiga from the floor and unsheathing it with something resembling grace, she pointed it at the scaly demon, remaining in a crouched position. She didn't think she'd be able to stand upright at the moment. *_Where is Sesshomaru?_* she wondered as she tried to ignore her screaming ribs. The scaled demon tilted his head at her curiously.

"I was going to ask how you feel, but I suppose you answered my question by doing that. Where did you learn such a thing?" Ali guessed that the demon was some sort of snake from the way he had to suppress the urge to draw out his 's's. She didn't answer him, though—who was he anyway?

"Alithia, lift your elbow and straighten your wrist," Sesshomaru's voice said somewhere above her head. Ali did as she was told and hissed under her breath as her ribs protested this simple movement. "Good." Sesshomaru's hands covered hers and guided her through the process of sheathing Tensaiga properly. He'd been teaching her things like this for—how long had it been since she'd run from him? "You can trust Lord Akishino. He is my mother's physician. Lie back down before you pass out and hurt yourself worse," Sesshomaru said in his bossiest tone. Ali was annoyed by it but complied since the room decided to spin on her.

"Child, do you know who did this to you?" Lord Akishino asked Ali. She gave a small nod and shivered.

"My former betrothed." Akishino pretended not to notice how stiff Sesshomaru became at the feisty girl's soft words. Instead he began to inspect her shoulder wound.

"What did you do to make him this angry?" Akishino asked. Ali shrugged her good shoulder.

"I said something that upset him," she murmured.

"And why would you want him to beat you half dead?" the snake said as he gently dabbed a strange smelling concoction on her shoulder. Ali chewed her lip and glanced at Sesshomaru, a blush suddenly staining her cheeks.

"He was going to rape me. I'd rather die than ever let him touch me like that again," she said fiercely. She sounded so bitter and hurt that Akishino wanted to ask her what had happened, but Sesshomaru glared at him. *_He hates his father for marrying a human, so why is he so protective of a woman who is half human herself?_* Akishino finished wrapping Ali's shoulder and gave her a gentle smile.

"Why don't you try to eat a little something? I'm sure I can get Sesshy here to help you," Akishino said, grinning cheekily at the glaring demon. "I'll be back shortly," he promised and slipped out of the hut.

Once outside, he found a quiet place to concentrate and projected his mind into the hut with the young people. He'd learned how to do this about a century ago from some monks on the mainland. Akishino knew that although Sesshomaru had some psychic abilities, he would be too focused on the girl to notice Akishino's mental presence.

Sesshomaru really didn't understand why people insisted on calling him 'Sesshy.' It was a child's nickname. He gave a sigh to Akishino's retreating back and turned his attention to the battered figure next to him. "How did Edward find you? And why did he attempt to skin you?" he asked Alithia. She gave him a crooked smile and shrugged again.

"I guess I'm just a trouble magnet. Eddie didn't exactly find me—I found him. After I ran off that night, I hid in the woods just outside this seaside village. I went looking for something to eat and saw him. My mistake was allowing him to take me somewhere we could talk privately. He didn't hit me until I called him stupid for not realizing that I might run into Kagome and Inuyasha. When I made it clear that I wasn't going to tell him where they were, he threw me into the side of a cliff. That's when he saw—"

Alithia paused and frowned.

"Well I don't know what he saw really. He just freaked out and asked who did this to me." She gingerly touched her injured shoulder. Sesshomaru began to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "The only thing I can think of is that this is where you've licked me on two separate occasions, but I don't know how he'd know that. I've bathed since then," she said, her forehead scrunching up in thought.

Sesshomaru was assaulted with several distinct memories that made his head spin and his blood heat. It wasn't any wonder that Alithia had run from him the other day—he had marked her as his concubine. *_She was must have instinctively realized that I could force her to_—* The thought that Alithia would think he'd rape her made Sesshomaru's stomach turn. He glared down at her to hide his reaction.

"You said nothing intimate happened between us that night in the cave," he said evenly. She cocked her head in confusion. "I marked you as my concubine. That is why you felt the urge to run from me the other day," he said coolly. Alithia's jaw dropped, and her eyes grew impossibly wide.

Akishino nearly laughed out loud. Poor Sesshomaru. He always got himself into the most interesting situations.

"Ooooh. That explains—" Alithia blushed a lovely red as she remembered something. He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Your mother made a comment about concubines knowing their place the day I met her. I never understood why until now. And nothing did happen in the cave besides you licking my shoulder. I thought that marking involved you biting me, and since you didn't do that, I didn't think about it until you licked me again when I was human. That I blamed on whatever makes men act weird around me on my human nights. I try to avoid people then," she explained.

Sesshomaru sighed and shook his head. "Pheromones. Your human night is one of the nights that will guarantee that you will carry a child should you mate," he said. Alithia turned redder still.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Maru. I did—" Sesshomaru placed his hand over her mouth before she could finish her apology.

"It was not your fault. Do not think about it anymore," he ordered gently, moving his hand from her mouth to stroke her cheek. She gave him a tiny smile and nodded.

Akishino smirked as he watched Sesshomaru and the girl. He could see that they were falling in love, though they were unaware of it. Akishino winced on behalf of the man who had hurt Ali—Sesshomaru on a path of revenge was not a pretty sight. A pang jerked through his heart. There was a reason he'd left this country three hundred years ago. Ali's voice drew Akishino's attention back to the present.

"I know you wouldn't have raped me the other day," Alithia said, startling Sesshomaru. He lifted an eyebrow. "When I saw the look you gave me the other night, my first thought was that Eddie used to look at me like that. I don't know why it made me run away. The next morning, I had convinced myself that I had been imagining things. Everything about the way you act tells me you don't want to be like your father—meaning that you wouldn't be interested in pursuing a realationship with a human, half or whole. Then I saw Eddie, and he did look at me in that way that told me exactly what he wanted, and it was so very different from the way you looked at me—I really didn't understand why I had run from you then," she said softly as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

*_I wonder how that bastard looked at her. I cannot believe there would be that much difference in the way we look at her_.* Sesshomaru thought as Alithia began to weep, her sobs mixed with short yips of pain as her ribs protested the expansion of her lungs. He sighed softly and very carefully pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair—the only part of her he wasn't afraid of hurting more.

"Alithia, you must stop weeping—you will only aggravate your injuries," he said into her ear softly. She buried her face deep into his Mokomoko and tried to stop.

"I was so scared that he was going to kill me. I don't want to die yet. I have to find someone," she whispered as her sobbing slowed. Sesshomaru felt a surge of something unidentifiable race through his chest.

"Who are you searching for?" he asked to distract her from her tears.

"I don't know who he is, just that I have to find him. He's someone who completes me—my soul mate, I think," she said, her tears slowing at last. Sesshomaru pretended to not notice the surge of anger that rolled through him and cocked his head at Alithia.

"You 'think'?" he asked softly. "Why are you unsure?"

Akishino wondered how it was that neither Sesshomaru nor Ali realized how he felt about her. Sesshomaru's jealousy was spiking off him in waves. Akishino shook his head. Sesshomaru's stubborn nature would probably be one of the many problems they faced before they married—which Akishino had no doubt was going to happen.

Ali bit her lip. She hadn't meant to talk about this—it sounded rather crazy in her time period but arrogant in this one. She looked up at Sesshomaru and knew he wouldn't laugh at her, not for this. He might think her weak, but he wouldn't laugh. She showed him the scar from her suicide attempt. "When I did this, I lay in a pool of blood for what seemed like forever. I got so sleepy and knew that I was going to die. Suddenly there was a bright light and a voice begging me to fight. It was a man's voice, and he said that I hadn't found him yet. 'I need you. Do not let go yet, beloved. I need you to fight right now. We are not meant to end things this way.' For the longest time, I forgot all about the voice that pulled me away from the edge. I think I saw a red thread connecting us, but I could have been hallucinating because of all the blood I'd lost."

Akishino winced when he saw the long white scar running up Ali's arm. He wondered what would drive her to do such a thing and decided to gain her trust. She reminded him a little of his daughter, long since gone. From the other scars he'd seen while he treated her, she needed all the protection she could get.

Sesshomaru gently kissed Alithia's arm and shifted her so that she reclined against him and gave her a bowl of broth. "I can help you find him," he said to her.

Ali felt heat racing into her cheeks and wished she could stop blushing in front of Sesshomaru. Not that crying was much better. She peered at him from beneath her lashes and saw the determined set of his jaw. "I don't know that you can help me find him, but thank you for offering," she said and drank her broth. Sesshomaru's eyebrow hiked up to his hairline. "I won't be alive in five hundred years, which is when I heard him. Or will hear him. Okay, my head hurts now." She moaned. Sesshomaru chuckled at her, earning a dirty from Ali in return.

Akishino blinked in surprise. He didn't remember Sesshomaru ever laughing. Interesting that this girl could bring it out. And what was this about five hundred years in the future? His curiosity was left unsatisfied as Sesshomaru captured Ali's chin with gentle fingers and tilted her head toward him.

"Why did you blush when Akishino was asking about your beating?" Sesshomaru asked Alithia, not surprised when she turned bright red—the blush highlighted her bruised eyes and cheek. He had to physically swallow the grumble of rage that threatened to escape from his chest. She peered at him shyly from beneath her lashes.

"Promise you won't get angry?" Alithia asked him anxiously. Sesshomaru gave a sharp nod. He was angry at Edward for making her afraid again—he'd made progress with not scaring her every five minutes and now that bastard had undone nearly a year's work of gaining her trust.

"After he saw the claim mark, Eddie accused me of being a whore—his words, not mine. I guess he saw that I was starting to get scared because he told me that he'd make a better lover than you would, and asked if I would reconsider my refusal of his marriage offer. I told him—"

Ali broke off and blushed even harder, burying her face in her bandaged hands.

"I told Eddie that I'd rather be your whore than his wife," she whispered.

Akishino winced in unison with Sesshomaru. They were harsh words for even sane men. For someone who was quite clearly more insane than a panther demon in Inu territory, it had to be humiliating.

"That was harsh, but I fail to see why it made him beat you so severely," Sesshomaru said quietly. Ali bit her lip. She knew that Sesshomaru was extremely intelligent, but she wasn't entirely sure how to explain movies to him. She'd have to lie a bit.

"It's a line from a play that Eddie hated. Well, not a play exactly, but it's really difficult to explain because I don't really understand the techniques behind it myself. You'll understand in, oh, 400 years or so," Ali stated before a yawn erupted out of her mouth. Sesshomaru gave her a gentle smile and carefully laid her back down. Once he'd covered her up, he stood and began to leave. Ali grabbed the bottom of his hakama and gave him a pleading expression.

"Please stay with me? I keep thinking that he's going to find me and kill me. I know it's impossible as long as you're here," she murmured sleepily. Akishino wondered at the girl's ability to make Sesshomaru act so different. Akishino's own daughter had once asked Sesshomaru to stay with her while she slept, and the cold demon had scoffed at her and told her not to be so weak. Akishino returned to his body and then returned to the hut. He had things to discuss with the young demon boy.


	11. Chapter 11

YO! I appologize to all my readers about the long absence. a week after I posted the last chapter, I moved. I hadn't known I was moving so quickly, so I didn't say anything. After getting settled at the new place, I wrote this chapter and sent it off to my beta reader, L.M. Avalon. She was really nice and quickly edited it for me. Then I had a total blonde moment and thought I sent it back with the few questions I had about it-only it sat in my draft box for three months. I finally went through all my email folders and found it, but because I was nearly done with chapter 12, I decided to wait to send them together. Sadly, my grandma died that weekend and things got chaotic again. So Anyway, here is chapter 11, Chapter 12 will be out within a week.

Thank you so so much, L.M. Avalon! I'd have crappy fic without you!

I don't own any Inuyasha characters or the orginal story line... cuase if I did, Sesshomaru would get his own spin off.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha poked at the mummified human hand and snorted. The things people thought would protect them made him laugh. He wasn't all that smart but even he knew that no protection could come from a human hand. He turned away from the stall with a shrug. It was none of his business if humans, or demons for that matter, were stupid enough to be cheated out of their money. He ignored the way the merchant demon snatched the hand from the countertop and tossed it aside. Inuyasha had long grown used to the way full-blooded demons acted around him.<p>

With a deep sigh, Inuyasha inspected the charms at the next stall. His son had been born four days earlier, and Inuyasha couldn't be more proud. He'd beaten his brother yet again, and it had nothing to do with luck. As he gloated to himself, his nose caught a familiar scent. With a loud curse, he dashed across the marketplace and shoved the snake demon away from Ali. He then shoved Ali behind him and drew his sword at the same time.

Akishino had reluctantly led Ali outside to get some fresh air. Sesshomaru had implied that he would be headless should any harm come to the girl. Not that Sesshomaru was aware of the threat he'd made before leaving the previous morning. Akishino's reluctance to take Ali outside stemmed from the fact that a half-demon had wandered into the village; they were unstable at the best of times. Alithia was still recovering from her injuries and did not need to get involved in a battle. A few moments later, his fears were confirmed as he was shoved into the dirt, and Ali was snatched away. Annoyed that someone dared to attack him, he leapt to his feet and whirled to face his attacker. His snarl caught in his throat as the blood drained from his face. "Makoto?" he gasped.

Inuyasha ignored Ali's insistent tugging at his sleeve and pointed Tetseiga at the snake demon. "Come on and fight already, you bastard!" he growled out.

Akishino quickly realized that the vulgar boy in front of him was not his old friend, but his son. He could see why Sesshomaru resented the boy. And from the way Ali was currently pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation, she knew him too. The boy seemed irritated that the snake demon wasn't using his drawn weapon, and Akishino had to admit that at least the brat was honorable enough to not attack an unarmed man. Before the boy could issue another insult, pale green magic pulsed out of Ali's hands. A very pregnant miko appeared with a vain pulsing in her forehead."INUYASHA!"

Much to Akishino's surprise, the boy went as white as his hair and his ears flattened against his skull in the universal sign of 'I'm so beyond screwed right now.'

"OSWARI!"

Inuyasha's hand flew up to clutch a strand of beads around his neck. Akishino bit back a smile as he realized they were beads of subjection. Inuyasha seemed surprised they hadn't worked and turned to face a swaying Ali. The illusion of the miko vanished as Ali's magic abandoned her, making Inuyasha drop his ridiculously large sword and lunged forward to catch Ali as she collapsed.

Inuyasha stared down at Ali's pale, battered face in shock. She'd obviously wandered away from his moron of a brother and had gotten into trouble. He growled lowly at the snake demon who touched Ali's head.

"Relax. Your brother placed her in my care. I hope you didn't just get me killed—I rather like being alive," the snake said dryly. "I am Akishino."

Inuyasha gave the unconscious girl to the snake and picked up Tetseiga.

"When did Sesshomaru give you that sword? From the way he spoke about your father 's death, I was under the impression that he was not fond of you." Akishino was too curious to pass the blunt question up, especially after he had seen how well the boy handled the weapon.

"My brother didn't give it to me. Father left it to me, though I didn't know that until Sesshomaru pulled it from its hiding place in my right eye." The young half-demon snorted, touching his eye in reflex. "Man, was he pissed that he couldn't even touch it. Father left him Tenseiga," the boy added with a slight smirk. "Hey, what happened to her? She's supposed to be with my moron of a brother so that she's safe."

Akishino hesitated for a moment before telling Inuyasha what he'd heard before projecting into the hut. "Her former betrothed did that to her. I am not certain how they were separated, but she stumbled into my tent four nights ago. Needless to say, she looks a great deal better now."

Inuyasha growled and clenched his fist. "That bastard. He better hope I find him before my brother does," he growled out. "Where is Sesshomaru anyway?"

Akishino smirked. "I believe he went to find the man who did this to her. He left yesterday morning."

"Keh," the boy said and sat next to Ali in a protective stance.

_Two hours later_

Ali knew she was dreaming by the way everything was warped.

_Ali lay in an agonized heap and prayed someone would help her before Eddie came back. A soft glow drew her attention to the wall she'd hoped held the key to her escape. She blinked blood out of her eyes as a figure materialized in the light. "Maru?" she wheezed out. A gentle hand touched her forehead as black spots dotted her vision. _

"_You must get up, little one," a deep, kind voice said. Ali opened her eyes slowly and forced them to focus on the glowing, transparent figure. "I know it hurts, but you must move now, child." Ali swallowed her scream of pain as she pushed herself to her feet. She didn't know how she would escape when the world was spinning like a merry-go-round on crack. "Follow me, little one. No one can see you for now, but we must move quickly." Ali nodded slowly in agreement and followed the man out of the palace and into the woods. Rationally, she knew she shouldn't trust a stranger, especially not one who glowed, but she was desperate to escape from Eddie before—she shuddered and didn't finish the thought._

_The man turned to her and winced when he saw how battered she was. "I will let you rest for awhile, and then I will take you to your Maru," he said and helped her sit on a rock. He ripped one of her sleeves off and began winding it as a bandage around her head to keep her own blood from blinding her. Ali reached up and trailed shaking fingertips over the jagged blue mark on his cheek, startling him. "It is a mark of my status as a demon lord," he said with a smile. _

"_I know," Ali replied. When he arched an eyebrow, Ali knew she had to be hallucinating. "He has your smile, and he makes the same face… But he doesn't have your eyes," Ali said softly in wonder. _

_Confusion filled the face of the figure in front of her. "Who has my smile?" it asked. _

"_Your son—Sesshomaru. Inuyasha has your eyes, though," she murmured, finally realizing that she held something that may make the figure in front of her a ghost and not a hallucination. _*I must have a concussion. It's taking way too long to process shit. I'm lucky to be alive,*_ she thought groggily as the ghost demon stared at her with shock. _

"_How is it you know my sons?" he asked finally. Ali tried to smile and winced when it hurt. _

"_Sesshomaru is kind enough to allow me to travel with him. He is teaching me to defend myself, though right now I'm ashamed of how poorly I've taken to his instruction. I know Inuyasha because I'm a distant relation of his wife's," Ali simplified. She didn't know how much a ghost who had moved on should know about the lives of the ones they'd once cared for. She was startled by the sad snort that issued from the ghost's chest._

"_Little one, you are much mistaken if you think that you know my son. Sesshomaru hates humans, and I'm sure he's long since killed his brother." The former Lord of the Western Lands sighed as he gestured for Ali to begin walking again. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes at his expression. *_Screw what he is or isn't supposed to know. He needs to know the truth. Maybe he didn't really move on_.*_

"_My Lord, I assure you, I do know your sons. Sesshomaru has surpassed your strength according to Myoga. He now wields Bakusaiga and Tenseiga, as well as a sword he commissioned himself," Ali began and then told the ghost what she'd heard from Kagome regarding Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. _

_Ali slumped against a tree as a wave of dizziness made her want to puke. _

"_Who are you and how did you gain Sesshomaru's trust? He would not allow just anyone to travel with him," the ghost said, attempting to distract her from her pain._

_Ali snorted. "My name is Ali, but I hardly think Sesshomaru trusts me. It's a case of keeping the threat close to him rather than close to the one he cares about," she said. "If he thinks I'm a danger to Rin, then he will kill me."_

_Ali tilted her head when the ghost gave a rueful laugh and winced. "You do know my son. He's always been cautious of others, even before his mother and I went our separate ways…" the ghost explained as they reached the outskirts of a camp. Ali was nearly ready to collapse but hesitated when she sensed the power the demons in the camp held. "Come, child. You will not be harmed." Sesshomaru's father led Ali to a tent and gently shoved her through the tent flaps. "I apologize for that. You're safe now" was the last thing Ali heard._

Ali's eyes snapped open, and she shot upright so fast her head spun. "Are you all right, Ali?" Ali turned her head to Akishino and nodded.

"Yes. I just had a strange dream, that's all," she said softly as she gave him a small smile. Akishino smiled back and gave her a bowl of stew. Just as she finished eating, Inuyasha ducked into the hut. For a long moment he stared at her, then came over and gently cuffed her head.

"Moron," he said affectionately and then rubbed her head to soothe where he'd smacked her. "What happened?" he asked as he took a bowl of stew and sat beside her. Ali shrugged and bit the corner of her lip.

"I needed time alone and wound up finding Eddie. I'm starting to think I have the worst luck in the world," she said and then sighed. *_Might as well tell him. Eddie isn't stupid—eventually he'll figure out that Kagome has the shard,_* she thought. Ali quickly told him everything that had happened to her since she'd left his village, and Inuyasha stared at her in amazement. "You'd better get back. There's no telling what Eddie will do when he realizes where I left the shard," she said soberly. Inuyasha paled and leapt to his feet. Just as he reached the door, Ali called out to him. "Inuyasha? I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting your family in danger," she whispered. Inuyasha returned to where she sat, pulled her gently to her feet and hugged her tightly.

"Baka. It's not your fault he's crazy," Inuyasha said softly into her ear. Ali returned his embrace hesitantly. "Stay by Sesshomaru's side from now on, okay? He will protect you from that bastard," Inuyasha said confidently as he stepped back and tugged a strand of her hair in a brotherly manner. Ali tugged his hair back childishly, making him smile down at her.

When he wasn't throwing a tantrum, Ali had no fear of the half-demon and counted him as her closest friend—he understood her predicament of being half human and weak better than anyone and that had given them a sibling-like relationship. *_Which is a little disturbing if I think about what Sesshomaru told me the other day about the way he'd marked me as his concubine. How 'bout I DON'T think about it?*_ she thought. Inuyasha suddenly seemed to be uncomfortable with their interaction and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm gonna head home. See ya," he said and then sloppily licked her cheek to annoy the hell out of her before running outside.

"INUYASHA!" Ali screeched and rubbed her cheek against her shoulder to get the slobber off. "Butthead," she muttered in English.

_Two hours later_

Ali shoved a bundle of medicine into the bag Sesshomaru had returned to her and stood with only a small wince. Her human night was tomorrow, and she didn't want to be in a village full of demons when that happened. It wasn't that she believed Akishino incapable of protecting her; it was that if Sesshomaru, who was a Taiyokai, had a hard time keeping his hands to himself, she shuddered to think what would happen to the control of lesser demons. If a few hundred attacked Akishino's hut, then chances were at least one would get ahold of her.

Ali looked over at the sleeping snake demon and smiled softly. He was very kind to have taken care of what he'd assumed was a half-demon woman, and Ali didn't want him to be hurt, so she stealthily placed a simple thank you note next to his head. A few moments later she was slipping into the shadowy forest, the sounds of the village quickly fading behind her. She waited until she could see that the moon had moved higher in the sky before letting out a sigh. Ali was already tired but didn't dare stop. She knew that Sesshomaru would easily track her after he'd spoken to Akashino, so she wasn't concerned with upsetting him.

*_I hope he doesn't return to Akishino's village until the day after tomorrow. I don't want to torment his sense of smell,_* she thought wearily. Absently, Ali had to wonder what she'd done in a previous life to piss off a god so badly that he cursed her with not only bad luck but misery too. Ali sighed again as the wave of loneliness clutched her heart again. She'd felt it often since she was fourteen, and it had only gotten more intense with age. Leaning her forehead against a cool tree trunk, she let out a shaky breath. Sometimes the loneliness was a physical pain, like someone had removed a limb. She could function without it, but life sucked massive balls. She shook off the feeling and continued walking west.

A moment later, a soft rustling sound caught her attention. She flicked her ears casually to see if she could track the sound—it had sounded almost like fabric. Suddenly something snaked around her waist and grabbed her right arm tightly, pinning her hand down by her hip. A large hand clamped down hard over her mouth to prevent her from screaming or biting. *_Oh god, Eddie found me,_* she thought in a panic and began writhing wildly in an attempt to get free. She managed to get her left arm free and started kicking when she was lifted off her feet. The man who held her let out a grunt of pain as her booted foot connected with his shin, which let her know where his face was. Reaching back with her free hand, Ali clawed at where she thought his eyes might be while slamming her head backwards toward his mouth.

"ALITHIA!"

Ali froze as Sesshomaru's snarl registered. It was only Sesshomaru. She began trembling and slumped in his arms, the adrenaline that had been rushing through her limbs abandoning her. She turned and rested her head between the spikes on his armor. She remained that way for a long moment before she was pushed back a step, her chin captured with gentle fingers and tilted up.

"This Sesshomaru believes you were given a direct order. Why have you disobeyed me?" he growled out. Ali winced when she saw the five bloody claw marks that barely missed his eye. She slowly met his gaze, which was wavering between annoyance and—was that pride?

"I didn't want to be in that village tomorrow night and thought I should put as much distance between it and myself as possible," she said quietly. Sesshomaru's eyebrow lifted. "If you have a hard time not touching me during my human night, then those with less… willpower wouldn't stand a chance. I know they have more control than the low-level demons who roam the world, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm still weak from my encounter with Eddie and not as strong as the weakest one of them on a good day," she elaborated.

_One hour earlier _

Sesshomaru had nearly made it back to Akishino's hut when a flicker of movement near the edge of the forest caught his attention. His hand resting on Bakusaiga's hilt, Sesshomaru snuck across the village and into the forest. When he realized he was following the stupid girl, he gave a soft sigh. Really, she was more trouble than Rin.

He followed her silently for close to an hour, creeping closer to her until he was ten feet behind her. When she didn't seem to notice him, Sesshomaru frowned, his eyes narrowing. She was either not paying attention to her surroundings or she was too weak to sense him. Usually her senses didn't begin to fail her until the dawn of her human moon, which meant she wasn't well enough to travel. Suddenly she stopped and rested her forehead against a tree, the smell of pain lacing the air. Fury boiled his blood, though he couldn't say what was making him angriest—his failure to protect her; her stupid, foolish independence; or Akishino's inattention.

Shoving aside the anger, Sesshomaru stealthily crept closer to Alithia, his eyebrow lifting when her ears began twitching when he was about two feet behind her. Still annoyed at her for running off, Sesshomaru decided to scare her—perhaps she'd be more attentive to his orders in the future. So she wouldn't scream for Akishino, Sesshomaru clamped his hand down over her mouth hard as he wrapped his other arm around her waist, pinning one of her hands to her side.

Sesshomaru winced at the acidic stench of fear that filled the air even as Alithia attempted to squirm free. He lifted her off her feet to prevent her from flipping him over her head—not that she could, panicked as she was becoming. He let out a grunt of surprise as her foot slammed into his shin, making her ears swivel backwards. Somehow she freed one of her arms and simultaneously slammed her head backwards and attempted to scratch his eye out.

*_Why does she fight me so hard when she allowed that bastard to nearly beat her to death?_* he wondered as her claws finally found his face. He growled out her name as she reared her head back again. Alithia went limp as she recognized his growl and when she turned around in his arms, he stared down at her head regretfully. He hadn't meant to frighten her this badly. *_I told her to stay put. She deserved this_,* he growled mentally as he pushed her away from him.

As she explained her defiance, a breeze ruffled her hair and carried her scent to his nose—which he did NOT like—and strangely, Inuyasha's scent too, though it was very faint. A dark anger stabbed through his body. "Why do you smell like my brother?" he asked abruptly. Alithia blinked and cocked her head sideways, as if attempting to remember something.

"The baka licked my face earlier," she said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow. "He showed up in the village this afternoon and when he saw me with Akishino, Inuyasha attacked him. I used some of my magic to create a false Kagome to calm Inuyasha down, and he stayed with me after I passed out. I never found out what he was doing here, though. I sent him back to protect Kagome after telling him about Eddie. He licked my cheek before he left," she said, rolling her eyes.

The dark anger grew stronger. "Did you forget what I told you a few days ago about licking?" he said, pleased his voice remained cool. Alithia's forehead furrowed in confusion, and then a deep blush stained her cheeks crimson.

"Inuyasha does it all the time to annoy me. What happened between us was… different. Seriously different. I'm not at all attracted to Inuyasha. And the way you looked at me… Trust me, it was different. It's vaguely upsetting, but I consider Inuyasha to be a very annoying brother," she said as she pulled a scrap of cloth from her bag and soaked it in water from her water skin. The anger faded from Sesshomaru's body, and he snorted. The implications of her feelings about Inuyasha and what had happened between them was disturbing. He preferred not to think about it.

"Here, sit down." Alithia gently pushed on his shoulder until he sat on a log. "This might sting," she added as she stood between his knees and pressed the wet cloth to his cheek. As Alithia cleaned the scratches, Sesshomaru studied her still-trembling form. He could tell that she was completely exhausted and probably shouldn't travel anymore.

"Am I correct in assuming that you thought that it was Edward who had grabbed you a moment ago?" Sesshomaru asked her quietly. Alithia nodded and attempted to step away from him, which he prevented by grabbing her hips. "I will not allow him to lay one more finger on you," Sesshomaru vowed. He reached up and cupped her cheek with one hand. "I will protect you, so you can rest now," he murmured, his fingers tracing over her features. He enjoyed the blush that followed the path of his fingers and gave a small, wicked smile as he tested a theory.

Sesshomaru slowly traced a path down the bridge of Alithia's nose to her lips, spending several seconds memorizing their shape. His fingertips drew intricate shapes across her cheek and down to the hollow of her throat. The blush slowly crept across her skin as her breath hitched several times. Shyly, Alithia began tracing patterns on the uninjured part of his face, her head dipping toward his until their foreheads touched. Sesshomaru's hand drifted to her shoulder, and he tipped his head to kiss Alithia when she jerked back with a strangled yelp. She bit her lip and clutched the shoulder that he'd marked. He gently removed her hand and pulled the collar of her strange shirt aside to inspect the wound. He frowned as blood seeped through the bandages slowly.

"Akishino believed that Eddie must have had the blade forged from some part of his body—that's why it's taking so long to heal," she said, dipping her shoulder away from his touch. "It hurts worse when you touch it," she added. Sesshomaru clenched his jaw tightly and stood as Alithia adjusted her shirt. He would not fail to protect her again. Silently, he picked up the bag she'd dropped when he'd grabbed her earlier and began walking toward where Jaken was keeping Ah-Un, pleased when he felt Alithia's hand brush against his.

An hour later, Ali fought the waves of sleepiness that wanted her to curl up somewhere. She was not going to wuss out on Sesshomaru; she'd already left a bad enough impression on him. She smothered another jaw-cracking yawn and tripped over a rock, staggering to regain her balance. She flushed as she heard Sesshomaru sigh in annoyance. A moment later she realized Sesshomaru no longer walked beside her and turned to him, thinking he'd sensed something, especially when he ordered her to come to his side. When he lifted her effortlessly into his arms, she gave an embarrassing squeak.

Sesshomaru sighed as Alithia stumbled for the sixth time, yawning as she tripped over her own feet. He stopped walking and felt his lips quirk as Alithia kept moving with her eyes half closed. She turned to him and tilted her head curiously after she realized he'd stopped. "Come here, Alithia," he ordered softly. When she got close enough, Sesshomaru scooped Alithia into his arms. She gave a startled yelp and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sleep. You are going to injure yourself if you attempt to keep walking right now, and it is not safe to make a camp here," he said as he began walking again.

Ali rested her head against the arm that was hooked behind Sesshomaru's neck so that her forehead touched his jaw and let her eyes flutter shut. Slowly, all sound faded away until she could only hear the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat, which fluttered when she tilted her head and sleepily kissed his jaw. *_I'll apologize in the morning_* was her last conscious thought.

Once he was certain she was asleep, Sesshomaru gently bumped his chin against Alithia's forehead so that she was no longer breathing directly onto the hollow of his throat. He had not had a serious attraction to anyone in centuries and didn't know why a half-human could just smile at him and make him want her. Touching made it worse because as much experinance as she had, Alithia was still very innocent. A few minutes later, he pushed aside such thoughts as he entered the camp that Jaken had prepared.

"Get her bedding ready," he ordered his servant as he sat with Alithia still in his arms. Jaken quickly did as he was told, silent for once—he didn't even ask about the nearly healed scratches on his cheek. Sesshomaru lowered Alithia to the bed and carefully unhooked her arms from around his neck, his pulse jumping when she half sat up and kissed his jaw. He pulled the blanket up over her and retreated to the shadows of a tree.


	12. Chapter 12

AN:Thanks to L.M. Avalon for all the editing help! Enjoy the chapter folks!

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><p>Sesshomaru glanced at Alithia's sleeping form as he made one final adjustment to his armor. His fingers brushed against the spot where he normally wore his father's red tassel, and he sighed. He regretted so hastily leaving the mountain top where Alithia had run away from him—the tassel had been missing since that day. He forced himself to stop fidgeting and kicked Jaken awake. "Go find something for her to eat," he ordered his servant. After Jaken left, Sesshomaru knelt next to Alithia and gently brushed the hair from her pale face.<p>

He frowned and let out a sigh. He couldn't wake her just yet; she was still healing and was sleeping peacefully for the first time since he'd been traveling with her. Besides, it had only been a few hours since she'd run away from Akashino's home. Jaken returned a few minutes later with berries and mushrooms. He moved to wake Alithia, but a frosty look from Sesshomaru stopped him. He scuttled over to his master and handed him the food and then proceeded to pack up the camp. Sesshomaru placed the food in a pouch and gathered Alithia in his arms, blankets and all. He mounted Ah-Un and adjusted Alithia in his lap before beginning the day's journey.

Cool wind kissed Ali's hot cheeks, making her stir. She opened blurry eyes and blinked at the hypnotizing sway of Sesshomaru's MokoMoko as it fluttered in a breeze. "I was just going to wake you," a deep, soft voice said. Ali tilted back her head to gaze into Sesshomaru's sad, golden eyes. "You need to eat something, Alithia," he said. The mere mentioning of food had Alithia's stomach twisting, and she wrinkled her nose. Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow at her as she burrowed down in the blankets and closed her eyes.

"Not hungry," she mumbled. A cool hand brushed her hair from her cheeks and forehead in a soothing manner. A moment later, Ali felt Sesshomaru's lips on her temple. She blinked and twisted her head so she could look him in the eye. He didn't look sad anymore, just somewhat annoyed.

"You are ill. You should not have been traveling. Eat just a little," he said, his voice becoming gentle at the end. A small pouch was deposited into her lap a moment later. Ali forced herself to eat several bites and thought about the last several days. She could just barely hear Jaken grumbling from somewhere behind Sesshomaru. She couldn't believe that she'd missed the annoying little imp. She wanted to talk to Sesshomaru about his father—without Jaken hearing. She knew that Sesshomaru trusted Jaken, but this was so personal that she was certain it was something that he wouldn't want anyone else to know. Besides, she wanted to ask him about his reaction to Inuyasha licking her last night. It was odd, considering that he'd also licked her once before the cave incident.

Ali slid an arm around Sesshomaru's neck, ignoring the soft silk of his hair as it tickled her hand, and put her lips close to his ear so Jaken wouldn't overhear what she intended to say. "Sesshomaru? Can we stop for awhile? I want to talk to you about something without Jaken's interference," she breathed softly in his ear. Sesshomaru's entire body went rigid, and his fingers dug into her ribs where he was supporting her in his lap. She winced and pulled back a little to give him some space. It was a good thing Sesshomaru had unintentionally hurt her because she'd been tempted to kiss his throat. She forced herself not to blush as Sesshomaru lifted a cool eyebrow at her.

Sesshomaru was glad he'd spent centuries perfecting his mask of indifference as Alithia's warm breath tickled his ear and sent shivers of pleasure down his spine. It made him angry that she had such an effect on him; she was merely a half-human after all. He was not interested in any sort of sexual relationship with a human, half or whole. Reflexively, he tightened his grip on Alithia. He ignored her wince and lifted an eyebrow as she pulled away, her face an interesting shade of pink. "What do you wish to discuss?" he asked her quietly. She bit her lip and peered over his shoulder at Jaken, who was muttering sullenly behind him. Alithia's next words left him speechless in shock.

"I want to talk about your father," she murmured. "I think he saved me," Alithia added quietly when he inhaled sharply. Sesshomaru gave her a sharp nod of understanding and directed Ah-Un to land. Half an hour later, he was alone with the girl and convinced that she'd been hallucinating due to the poison that still laced her body.

"How could my dead father possibly have saved you?" Sesshomaru growled out more harshly than he intended. Alithia didn't seem to be offended by his disbelief as she folded the blankets she'd been wrapped in. Then she sat on a rock and chewed her lip for a minute, wincing when one of her fangs pierced the tender flesh. Sesshomaru silently knelt in front of her and gently brushed away the blood.

Sesshomaru's thumb rested on her lip, and his long fingers caressed Ali's cheek, the scrape of his claws against the soft flesh making the fine hairs on her neck stand up. To distract him from the scent of her arousal, Ali took his hand and placed the bright red tassel she'd stolen from him the day she'd misinterpreted the look he'd given her in his palm, closing his long fingers over it. It had been a game she'd started playing with him the first day they'd begun traveling together. She called it the 'let's see how long it takes him to notice I took it' game; he called it the 'you're pushing my buttons' game. Sesshomaru seemed less than thrilled about it but allowed her to practice her thievery skills on him.

As Sesshomaru's gaze dropped from her eyes to the object in his hand, Ali remembered the last time she'd lost her little game. Well, she lost every time, but that morning had been a little different…

_Ali walked back from the river twitching her nose like a rabbit to get the water out of it. As she entered the camp, she skirted a grouchy Jaken and sat near the things Sesshomaru had left behind after his morning's drill set. Stealthily, she swiped the bright red tassel that dangled from his armor like she had for the past three mornings and tucked it into the back of her own armor's neck, underneath her hair. Suppressing a smirk because Jaken hadn't noticed her taking the tassel, she quickly gathered her things._

_A moment later, Sesshomaru returned from his bathing rituals, and Ali swallowed hard as she watched a bead of water trickle down his arm. She squashed down the flare of knee-melting attraction and quietly slipped away from the camp. Once she'd traveled about 150 feet, she broke into a run. It wouldn't take long for him to notice she'd taken it again. _

_Ali let out a startled yip as a still-topless Sesshomaru appeared in her peripheral vision, and she picked up her pace, a giggle escaping her lips. Bands of steel wrapped around her waist, and she was tackled to the ground, Sesshomaru rolling so he hit the ground first. Ali swallowed as her hands were pinned firmly above her head with both of his. Sesshomaru sat on her legs, trapping them between his own and making escape difficult. _

_Ali peered up at Sesshomaru's unamused face and blinked with all the innocence she could muster. "Can I help you with something, Maru?" she murmured. Sesshomaru gave a low growl and leaned in close to her face. _

"_You have something that belongs to me," he rumbled, his warm breath caressing her cheeks. Strangely, Ali didn't feel afraid. She didn't think he was actually angry, just annoyed—and only a little at that. Mostly he seemed to be amused that she'd actually managed to run any distance from him at all. Ali cocked her head to the side in false confusion. _

"_Do I?" she purred. "I didn't realize I had taken anything," she lied shamelessly. "If you find what you are looking for, then I'll apologize," she added slyly. Sesshomaru's eyebrow shot up to his hairline even as his eyes went a molten gold color._

"_And how, exactly, do you intend to apologize to this Sesshomaru?" he growled out as one hand slid down her arm to cup her cheek. Ali felt a blush beginning to ignite her face and desperately tried to bluff her way through… whatever this was. She gave a casual shrug and smirked up at him. _

"_I'm sure you will think of something. But first, you have to prove I took anything from you," she stated sassily. A smirk twisted his lips sexily, and he leaned closer, tilting her head to the side. Ali swallowed a gasp as his lips claimed the side of her throat, his tongue and gently-scraping fangs sending her brain directly into lala land. _

"_This Sesshomaru has all the proof he needs right here," he said as he pulled back and dangled the red tassel in front of her eyes. Ali pouted, disappointed that he'd found it so quickly. Sesshomaru tucked the tassel into the waist of his hakamas and returned his attention to her with that wicked smirk still gracing his face. "You are correct. I have thought of something you can do to—" he began to say. Ali used the moment he sat up to put away the tassel to cool her rapidly heating blood, and when he returned his attention to her, she flipped them so that she was straddling his hips. A stunned look had replaced the smirk, making her giggle._

_Before Ali could make a clever remark, she heard Jaken wailing for Sesshomaru. She made a face and sighed before climbing off the still-stunned demon lord. She began walking back to the camp, ignoring Jaken when she passed him on the road. As she walked, she shoved the whole incident aside to analyze later. Now was not the time to have her brain melt. She had a feeling his revenge wasn't going to be very nice._

"I thought I took this back from you," Sesshomaru said, clearly remembering the incident as well. Ali grinned wickedly at him.

"You did that day, but the next day when we stopped because Jaken wanted to eat, I took it from you again, right off your armor. I was going to give it to you after we ate that night, but, well, that was the night I got scared and ran away," she explained, the smirk only fading a little when she thought of her stupidity.

Sesshomaru stared at the blush that stained Alithia's pale face a brighter red than normal and wondered if she knew she was blushing. He guessed that she didn't from the way her head tilted in genuine confusion, one ear tilted sideways and toward the ground. Normally both her ears were upright or tilted back, not to the side. She only did that when she was confused about something.

Sesshomaru refused to think about how close he'd come to seducing her the day she'd taken his father's tassel and run. He seized onto that thought viciously and held on for dear life. "What does this have to do with my father?" he asked in a grumbly tone. Alithia's face became serious.

"That tassel means so much to you because it was your father's, wasn't it? It was because of him that I was able to escape from Eddie this time. I had that tassel, and I—I think I was very, very close to dying," she said gravely. Ice slammed into Sesshomaru's chest at her words. Had she really been that close to death?

"You are not leaving my side again," he said before he could stop himself. Alithia blinked in surprise and lifted an eyebrow. "You end up in too much trouble otherwise, and I have duties to attend to other than saving you or worrying about your wellbeing," he added more bluntly than he meant to. *_Nice time for your eloquence to fail you,_* he thought sardonically.

Ali didn't know what to make of Sesshomaru's statement at first but decided to take it at face value. She wasn't strong enough to fight on her own yet, but with his help, she would be. She was getting really tired of being injured or in need of rescue. She wasn't freaking Snow White, she was Mulan. Or she would be if she had anything to say about it. She gave him a sharp nod of consent and changed the subject.

"Why were you so upset when I said Inuyasha had licked me? I mean, you licked me once before that incident in the cave," she said, fighting another blush. Sesshomaru's eyebrow lifted in confusion.

"When did I do that?" he asked in a tone that implied he believed she was lying. Ali hesitated—maybe she'd imagined that he'd healed her. She did have accelerated healing. Her face scrunched thoughtfully as she tried to assess whether or not it had actually happened. She did occasionally have fantasies about Sesshomaru. She shook her head in resignation.

"I apologize. I must have dreamed it," she murmured uncertainly as she rubbed her eyebrow. Ali hoped that she wasn't going crazy. Feudal Japan was not the place to be a complete nut job—not unless you had a great deal of magical or political power. She had neither, so if she went crazy here, she'd likely meet an unpleasant end. Her ears went flat against her skull as images from years of history class invaded her brain. Having a vivid imagination was overrated sometimes.

Sesshomaru blinked as he remembered the incident to which she had to be referring. He'd been so annoyed by the impulsive action that he'd forgotten it entirely. A small whimper drew his attention back to Alithia. He had no idea what she was thinking about, but it was clearly scaring her. He leaned in and kissed her eyebrow gently.

"I had forgotten about that. What are you frightened of?" Sesshomaru asked as he cupped her cheek. Alithia shook her head and went red again. She wouldn't meet his eyes, so he tilted her chin up until she did. "Do not lie. I can see something is bothering you." Alithia stared into his eyes for a long moment and let out a small sigh.

"For a moment, I thought I was losing my mind and imagining all the things that could happen to me. I am gifted with a vivid imagination. In my time period, history has many records of people who went crazy and the things that happened to them. I don't want that to happen to me," she said in a trembling voice. Sesshomaru snorted.

"I will kill you before I allowed that to happen to you. I swear if you lose your mind and are a danger to others, I will kill you. I already said that man is not going to lay another finger on you—no one else will either. Do not worry yourself any longer," he said with a scowl on his face. Alithia flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his throat, sliding off her rock until she straddled his lap.

"Thank you," she breathed. He smiled into her neck and wrapped his arms around her ribs to hold her close. They remained that way until a breeze made Alithia shiver and cuddle closer to Sesshomaru. He suddenly became aware of their intimate position and pulled away, gently setting Alithia back on her rock. He stood up and faced away from her so she wouldn't be able to read his expression while she answered his next question.

"Exactly what happened when my father's spirit saved you?" he asked coolly.

"I was lying in a pool of blood desperately praying that you'd find me when I saw a bright light…" Alithia began softly.

_Two days later_

Ali swallowed her irritation as Sesshomaru knocked the katana from her hands for the fifth time that morning. She was not a swordswoman by any stretch of the imagination, but this was honestly pathetic. She dodged Sesshomaru's next sword swing and kicked out at the back of his knee. He swiveled away from the blow and threw a punch at her chest. She dodged that blow as well, and for several minutes they exchanged barely-missed kicks and punches. Sesshomaru sheathed his sword and began to attack her earnestly. She purposely backed away from his aggressive stance until her foot found her staff, which she managed to kick into her hands without bashing herself in the face. She'd been practicing this move for several weeks and three out of four times she'd hit herself in the face with the staff because she had kicked it too high.

Sesshomaru smirked as she shoved the end of the staff toward his stomach, easily dodging. He picked up a thin branch that was nearly the same length as her staff and blocked the blow Ali directed at his head. For nearly half an hour they fought with their staffs, Sesshomaru landing more blows than she did.

Sesshomaru could see that Alithia was getting tired and decided to end the practice. Alithia had nearly finished healing but wasn't quite her old self. He teleported behind her and rushing her from behind, gave her a firm wack across the lower back. He heard a yelp of pain, and then her staff end was whistling past his ear as he dodged the blow to the back of his head. Sesshomaru felt his eyes go wide as Alithia pulled back her staff, which had transformed into a scythe with a wicked looking blade. He instinctively grabbed the handle of the scythe as it arched toward his throat and tried to push it the other way as he leaned backwards. A moment later he wiped a trickle of blood from his throat with his free hand and bit back a smile.

"Are you alright?" Alithia's concerned voice penetrated his amusement, and he put his mask of indifference back on. Holding her scythe with an iron grip, he turned and gave her an evaluating stare. She didn't squirm under it like most people would but met his gaze evenly. "It would be foolish to reveal all my fighting secrets at once," she said in reply to his unasked question. He gave her a sharp nod and turned his focus to the intricately carved scythe handle. When he attempted to pull it from her grip, the scythe glowed brightly and a column of fire sent him flying backwards into a tree.

Ali stared in horror as Sesshomaru's body flew backwards through a tree. She dodged the falling branches and tossed aside the scythe and ran to his side when he didn't immediately get up. Swallowing a whimper, she gently cradled his head in her lap. "Maru? Maru, are you okay?" she asked anxiously. He let out a grunt, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She ran her fingers over his face gently as he pulled oxygen back into his lungs. His eyes closed, and he allowed her to gently stroke his face and throat. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and smirked up at her. Ali felt her eyes go wide with alarm, and she shoved his head away and attempted to scramble backwards but wasn't quick enough.

Sesshomaru had not been so humiliated in centuries. He knew better than to go about touching magical weapons. He lay on the ground cursing his own stupidity while he tried to get the air to return to his lungs. Terrified purple eyes blocked his view of the blue sky. He could distantly hear Alithia's anxious voice calling his name. He grunted to let her know that he was ok. Against his will, Sesshomaru's eyes drifted shut as Alithia's delicate fingers traced patterns over his face and throat.

For a long moment after he'd regained his ability to breathe, Sesshomaru lay with his head in Alithia's lap and inhaled her intoxicating scent. *_I'm doing it again—I'm letting her affect me. This is ridiculous. This stops NOW,_* he thought savagely. He wondered how he was going to get out of this situation without upsetting her—he didn't need her to run off and get herself hurt again. Settling on a course of action, he opened his eyes and gave Alithia a wicked smile. Her expression changed from concerned to alarmed, and she shoved him out of her lap. He rolled to his hands and knees and charged at the retreating figure.

"You should never let your guard down," Sesshomaru rumbled once he'd pinned Alithia to the ground. She glared at him defiantly.

"I thought you were hurt. You better not have been faking," she growled. Sesshomaru chuckled at her outraged expression. He smirked down at her and watched with amusement as she tried to fight a blush.

"You still owe me an apology as well," he murmured sensually, caressing the bridge of Alithia's nose with a claw. Her face went crimson for a brief second, and then it was Sesshomaru's turn to be alarmed as a devious smile graced her lips.

"Is this a good enough apology?" Alithia murmured before lifting her head up off the ground and kissing him fiercely. Sesshomaru was shocked by the aggressive passion she displayed—she was the one who always pulled away from his advances. It made him angry; had she been faking her shyness this entire time? He returned the kiss harshly, nipping her lip when she tried to pull back. A few moments later, he pulled back to get some air and glared down at Alithia. She blinked dazedly at him, making him even angrier. He kissed her again, putting all of his seductive power behind it. For once, she didn't pull away but met his kiss with equal passion. At some point, her hands drifted from above her head where he'd pinned them to tangle in his hair. Awhile later, she gave his chest a hard shove.

"Jaken's coming," she gasped. He leapt to his feet and tried to calm his racing heart as Jaken's voice reached him.

Ali clenched her trembling hands and tried to remember what breathing was. She hadn't intended for things to get so out of control. *_Pretend it didn't happen. Pretend it didn't happen,_* she thought as Jaken chattered at Sesshomaru. She gathered the weapons from their morning practice and began cleaning them. She left her scythe where she'd tossed it; she hadn't wanted to attack Sesshomaru earlier—the scythe had done that on its own.

Later that day when they stopped for a short break, Sesshomaru watched Alithia from the corner of his eye. He hadn't spoken to her all morning, choosing instead to just observe. He came to the conclusion that she'd been bluffing when she'd kissed him so boldly. She was a sneaky little fox, but not intentionally devious. Sesshomaru snorted to himself. He was beginning to see why Edward had been fascinated with her—she had the potential to be a perfect lover. Not that the self-centered bastard would ever know that now. He shook off that train of thought and frowned as Alithia rolled her shoulder for the fifth time. He also realized that he didn't see her elaborately carved scythe anywhere.

"Alithia, where is your weapon?" Sesshomaru's deep voice startled Ali. He had been so upset at her pathetic attempt to surprise him that he hadn't spoken to her all day. She stopped rolling her aching shoulder and blinked up at Sesshomaru.

"Oh, I left it back there. It attacked you when I didn't mean for it to," she said with a shrug. Sesshomaru stared at her and then let out a sigh.

"Come here," he ordered softly. Ali blinked and, after a moment's hesitation, took Sesshomaru's outstretched hand. She swallowed a squeal as he yanked her against his chest firmly, and they were enveloped in a bright red light. "You can open your eyes now," Sesshomaru murmured into her ear. Ali opened her eyes and blinked as she saw the tree Sesshomaru had destroyed earlier that day during their weapons practice. "Retrieve your weapon and bring it here," he ordered.

Alithia obeyed him curiously. When she stood in front of him again, he held out his hands. "Now give it to me willingly." She placed the scythe into his hands gently. Sesshomaru inspected the intricately carved staff closely for several minutes. It was a beautiful weapon. "Show me how you release the blade," he said. When she moved to take the weapon back, he wrapped his arms around her and turned her the other way so her back rested against his chest.

Ali forced herself to remain calm as Sesshomaru's strong arms encircled her. She wasn't going to allow there to be a repeat of that morning—she wanted to stay by his side for a long time, and episodes like that morning were going to ruin any chance of that. She wrapped each of her hands over his and showed him the way to twist the staff so the blade sprang free. "Do not throw away this weapon again. We were fighting earlier, and it was merely protecting you," he said quietly. She nodded mutely and held the scythe against her chest. "Close your eyes—we will return to Jaken now," he murmured and held her close again.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Thanks to my beta reader, L.M. Avalon for all of her editing skills! I'm sorry it took a while to update, I've had computer issues for a while now, and writers block. Unfortantatly, my laptop has a virus so I must use the public library to write. Thank god for flash drives! Because I'm only allowed two hours of computer use everyday at the library, chapters will be even slower in getting out. Sorry about that!

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><p>Jaken folded his arms across his chest and let out a yawn. He wished his two companions would just sleep together and get it over with. The on and off sexual tension was giving him a migraine. He shook his head in resignation. It wasn't likely to happen anytime soon—his master was too stubborn and the silly girl was too scared. Jaken had heard her say as much to the cowardly flea. He gazed across the fire at the two of them huddled against the evening chill and snorted softly. Jaken could hardly believe Sesshomaru allowed this; he was exceptionally stubborn about admitting his attraction to the girl during the day, but at night nothing could keep him from holding her while she taught him to read her strange writing.<p>

Jaken hadn't pushed his master to pursue a relationship with the girl because she seemed unable to decide what she wanted. There were times she would stare at Sesshomaru with barely concealed lust, and other times when she'd ignore his advances. Take their current sitting arrangement for example; Sesshomaru would sit in a meditative position and then she'd sit in his lap with his MokoMoko wrapped around the both of them. The girl had been visibly uneasy about this at first—she sat so stiffly it seemed she'd been carved from wood. When she'd done that for the first time, Jaken had swallowed a squeal of terror—Sesshomaru's eyes had bled pink until she relaxed. Tonight, for the first time, she had simply sat in Sesshomaru's lap and reclined against his chest immediately. Jaken fell asleep shortly thereafter, not noticing when his staff fell over.

Ali absently blew her bangs out of her eyes as her finger traced along the coast of Africa. She wondered what had possessed her grandfather to send something as dangerous as a world atlas into feudal Japan—as far as she remembered, only Holland had made it to Japan by this point in history. The country hadn't left a great impression; rather, the Christians hadn't. And with so many demons running wild in this time period, she couldn't say she was surprised. She imagined that the high ratio of demons was the cause of Christianity's ban. Ironically, that ban may have been why demons faded into mere legend over the next five hundred and seventy years… and this was making her head hurt, so she focused on Sesshomaru's soft voice in her ear instead of her internal history lesson.

"What is this land called?" Sesshomaru moved her finger over to America and let his hand linger on top of hers. Ali squashed the spike of arousal as his warm breath caressed her ears. A month ago, they'd run into Sango and Marko. In utter desperation, Ali had told Sango a little about the way Sesshomaru acted on her human nights. She'd actually been intentionally vague, saying all demons were attracted to her scent—the last thing that Sesshomaru needed was his little brother teasing him about something he hated so much. Sango, with a knowing look, had given her a charm that demon slayer women used to keep their fertility hidden. Ali had ignored the look and accepted the charm gratefully.

"America. A colony has just been established here." Ali fingered her charm absently and pointed to Massachusetts on the map. "Or it will be soon. I don't quite remember when they arrive," she said, her forehead wrinkling in confusion. Time travel was defiantly a headache. Sesshomaru leaned over her shoulder and traced over the huge landmass that was America.

"What goods does this country produce?" he asked interestedly. Ali shook her head.

"Nothing at the present. In the future, it produces a great deal of things I can't even begin to accurately describe. Mostly services instead of _products_. Currently, the people that will ultimately control that country are barely building their homes, if they've even arrived yet," Alithia murmured, her hand fidgeting with something at the hollow of her throat. It was driving Sesshomaru mad. She played with the damned thing every night, but he'd yet to see what it was. He looked back at the shiny map and studied it for a long moment, his hand stroking her rib cage with a deliberate sensuality. He lifted an eyebrow as her breath hitched mid-sentence, but her scent remained unchanged.

"Where is Nihon compared to where you lived?" he asked her. Alithia pointed to one of the larger territories and then slid her finger across the page until it covered one of the smallest land masses on the map. Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow. "Surely Nihon is bigger than that," he said. Ali shook her head again.

"It's only tiny on the map. Here, let me show you," she said and dropped the charm she'd been fiddling with and flipped several shiny pages. "See? This is a closer view of Nihon. It's still relatively small, but it will be one of the most powerful countries for centuries. You know you can't discuss any of this, right?" Alithia twisted around to peer in his eyes. "At best, others will think you are completely insane. At worst, someone will find a way to capture and torture you for the information." Sesshomaru glared at her and was surprised when she didn't flinch. "Maru, I wasn't talking about physical torture. I have no doubt that you can survive the harshest physical torture anyone could ever do to you without breaking." She reached up and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"They will destroy everything you hold close to your heart and then make you relive it over and over until you told them what they wanted know. And even then, they might not stop. Maru, you have Mental abilities, but they are not as strong as your physical and magical ones; it is possibly your only weakness, and one that they will exploit," she said softly.

"I will tell no one," he murmured back to her and picked up the charm she'd been fiddling with. When he got a clear look at it, a foreign feeling pressed into his chest, followed quickly by anger. He'd seen this charm before—it was one worn by demon slayer women to protect against unwanted attention from male demons. He dropped the charm as if it had burned him and stood so abruptly Alithia let out a yelp of surprise as she was dumped to the ground. "I have acquired all the knowledge I wish to from you. We will no longer continue these sessions. You will practice the things I have taught you on your own for now."

Ali stared at the spot where Sesshomaru had stood for a long time, cradling her wrist in confusion. She didn't understand; what had she done to make him so angry? She rubbed the last bit of soreness out of her wrist, which she had wrenched in her attempt to keep from smashing her face into the ground when Sesshomaru dumped her out of his lap. A sudden thought made Ali's chest clench painfully. She should never have shown him the world atlas; she'd just endangered Rin. She angrily threw the atlas into the fire and crawled into her blankets, pulling them over her head to smother quiet sobs. She didn't see a figure leap from a nearby tree and snatch the book before it became too badly damaged.

_Two weeks later _

Sesshomaru stared at the lump of blankets across the fire. He did not know what he was going to do with Alithia. He did not dare leave her with his idiot of a brother—trouble followed the girl too closely. He felt his lip curl in a silent snarl. She still wore that damn charm. Why it made him so angry he had no idea. He snorted. It certainly had helped limit the number of times he lost his ability to remain aloof. Not that he had many opportunities to do so recently; Alithia had been avoiding him as much as possible. He snorted again. She might have not retreated into herself after the night he'd realized what her charm was had it not been for the very next night. He'd been meditating and somehow had ended up seeing her dreams—her very erotic dreams. She was still unable to look him in the eye because the dreams had been about him.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The things that girl had dreamed of them doing together completely contradicted her reactions to him. Tomorrow he would confront her about it. Tonight, he would attempt to see her dreams again and confirm that she was merely toying with him. Just as he was thinking this, Alithia let out a muffled cry.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and began to meditate. Once his mind was clear of all distractions, he deliberately brushed against Alithia's mind.

_Immediately, he fell into a thick grey fog full of shadowy figures. Sesshomaru's stomach turned violently as the acrid scent of fear choked him. A tiny figure darted past him, and he realized that this was not an erotic dream. He attempted to leave her dreams, but stumbled as something slammed into his legs. He turned and saw that the tiny figure had returned—it was a very young Alithia. _

"We have to go this way!"_ she hissed at him and grabbed his hand. He resisted her insistent tugging with a raised eyebrow. Alithia was scrawny and very filthy; it looked as if she hadn't bathed in weeks._

"I do not fear anything_," he said. She let out a terrified whimper as a shimmering veil approached them and buried her face into his hip._

"He's going to hurt me again. I was just hungry_," she whispered. He crouched and tilted her chin up with one finger. _

"You are only dreaming, Alithia. You cannot be hurt_," he assured her. His words did nothing to reassure her, and she began to suck in panicked breaths as the veil drew closer. Sesshomaru pulled her into his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder. "_Do not watch_," he said softly. _

_As the veil passed over them, a sharp burning sensation crawled across his spine. A bright light nearly blinded him, and he blinked. When he could focus again, he saw a kitchen with strange devices. All the cupboards had locks on them, and there was food stored in small cages on the counters, locked as well. The Alithia in his arms trembled as another Alithia slipped into the kitchen. She hid under a long table for several minutes with her head tilted toward the door she'd just entered from. _

_She must have been satisfied that she was safe, for she climbed onto the counter nimbly and opened the one storage device that didn't have a lock. A second later she began cramming bread into her mouth, barely chewing as she devoured it. She suddenly froze and lifted glowing purple eyes to the door way. Panic filled her eyes, and she swallowed hard. Shoving the remaining bread back where she got it from, her eyes turned brown just as a tall figure burst into the room and walked through Sesshomaru. _

"You ungrateful little bitch! What the hell do you think you are doing_?" the man snarled as he lifted Alithia from the counter by the front of her shirt. He shook her hard when she gave him a defiant look. _

"I wasn't stealing this time. The bread wasn't locked up, and I was hungry_," she said with a defiant look. Sesshomaru pulled the trembling girl in his arms closer to his chest. He'd met men like this several times in his long life—and the one thing they did not stand for was defiance. Sesshomaru knew that this man was going to hurt Alithia badly now. He swallowed his enraged growl and tried to cover the ears of the girl in his arms so she wouldn't have to hear herself being beat. _

_As Sesshomaru guessed, the man was like every piece of scum who loved power. The man swore at Alithia and punched her in the mouth, then tossed her across the table. As she lay on the floor whimpering, the man, who was still just a blur, walked over to a drawer and unlocked it with a deliberate slowness. He pulled out a cat of nine tails, something Sesshomaru hadn't seen since his travels to the main land. It was something that was used onboard foreign ships to punish unruly sailors. The man began to speak, tapping the whip in his hand._

"I have tried really hard to teach you how to be a good little girl. I hate having to punish you like this. If you wouldn't act like such a little freak we could avoid this. This punishment is for your own good_," the man said as he raised the whip. _

_Sesshomaru closed his eyes as the man began whipping Alithia, whishing he couldn't hear the cries of pain she was trying to suppress. Something wet trickled off his arm, and he pulled it away from the Alithia he was holding to see blood. He looked down in concern and saw that every time a blow from the whip landed, a line of blood appeared on both Alithia's' backs. He clenched his jaw in anger. He would find that man and rip him to shreds with his bare hands and leave his body for scavengers to feast on, though the man didn't deserve such a kind ending. When Sesshomaru began to feel the sting of the whip on his own back, he knew that he was dangerously close to permentantly merging with Alithia's mind. _

_He picked up the disturbingly still child in his arms and began walking away from that disgusting scene. He passed through another shimmering veil and emerged in some sort of field. Alithia stirred in his arms and looked around. "I don't want to be here either," she whimpered and burrowed back into the crook of his neck. _

_A moment later, a chubby little girl with braided hair skipped past him. Sesshomaru felt his eyes widen in surprise as he recognized a happy Alithia. She was clean, well fed, and about two years younger than in the memory he'd just witnessed. _

"Oka-san, outa-san, hurry!_" she shouted, waving at someone behind him. Sesshomaru turned to see a smiling couple following Alithia. He followed Alithia as well, still carrying the older version of her. He was beginning to wonder why she didn't want to see this—she was happy here, as was evidenced by the fact she was laughing with the people she'd called her parents. For what seemed like a long time, they walked through a wooded area and then stopped by a river to eat. After eating, Alithia wandered off to play. Eventually, her father came looking for her and found her just as she spotted something. _

"Teddy bear_!" she squealed, and ran toward a bear cub caught in some sort of snare. Her father went pale as he realized what she was about to do and broke into a run, shouting._

"ALI, DON'T TOUCH IT! GET AWAY_!" he screamed. An angry roar made him run faster, and he tackled Alithia just before she reached the cub. He rolled with her and laid over her as the mama bear attacked him. Alithia began to scream in terror, and her mother ran over waving a strange device. It made a loud banging noise and gave a small flash of fire, which startled and distracted the mother bear. She charged at Alithia's mother until the woman made her device make that sound again, and then the bear gave a last roar of anger and rumbled out of sight, her cub finally having worked its way out of the trap and fleeing as well. _

_Sesshomaru began walking again and passed through both dreams several more times before he came to the edge of her dreamscape. He set Alithia down and tilted her trembling chin up_.

"We have to wake up now. I will disappear for awhile, but when you open your eyes I will be there, I promise. I must leave you here for now. When I call your name, you will wake up,_" he said to her. Alithia nodded bravely and stepped away from him. _

He concentrated on pulling himself out of his meditative state and woke to chaos. The fire, which had nearly burned down before his brilliant decision, was now a thirty foot column of flames. Jaken was screaming his fool head off, and Ah-Un was braying in alarm. Rocks were levitating and spinning through the air as well, some of them occasionally hitting Jaken. Sesshomaru calmly stood and walked to the twitching bundle, stepping on Jaken as he passed the idiot.

Sesshomaru knelt next to Alithia and called her name. "Alithia," he said just loudly enough to be heard over the roaring column of fire. It was giving off incredible amounts of heat, and he was sweating under his armor. He quickly shed that nuisance and called Alithia's name again. She bolted upright with a strangled gasp, her eyes darting around until she saw him. For a moment, she didn't appear to recognize him and scooted backwards in fear.

"Alithia, you are safe now. Come here," he ordered. She threw herself into his arms and nearly knocked him over, her ears pinned against her skull. He held her close as she began to weep, trembling violently the whole time. Sesshomaru moved himself into a more comfortable position and simply held Alithia, occasionally making soft growling sounds in his chest to reassure her she was safe.

Awhile later, she lifted her head from his neck, still shaking. She avoided his gaze and attempted to back away from him. Sesshomaru didn't let her go, but pulled her closer instead. "I saw what you dreamed. We will talk about it tomorrow," he said quietly. Alithia hesitated only for moment before curling back into his arms. Slowly, the column of fire disappeared as she fell back into an uneasy sleep.

The next evening, Sesshomaru sent Jaken and Ah-Un to Inuyasha's village to announce his arrival. Once Jaken was out of hearing range, Sesshomaru turned to Alithia and took her hands gently.

"I will not apologize for invading your dreams—I have been under the impression that you are hiding something from me. The first time I saw your dreams was an accident. I find myself very confused. Why are you wearing this when you have such dreams about me?" he asked and pulled the charm from under her collar. Alithia blushed and dropped her eyes.

"_Because_ of those dreams. Because of what happens every month between us. Despite what I said to Eddie when he captured me, I am not willing to be anyone's whore. It's stupid to pretend that I'm not attracted to you. But it's not something you want—you only react to me because of the pheromones my body produces on my human night. I'm not stupid; even if you were actually attracted to me, you'd never marry me." Alithia paused and began fidgeting with a long strand of hair. "You don't wish to be like your father in that respect. Right now, you have the respect of the other demon lords precisely because you've distanced yourself from making the same 'mistake' as your father. It's the same reason you'd never make me your concubine either. Besides, there will be times you can't watch over me when I'm human—you have other responsibilities."

Sesshomaru had a hard time keeping himself from flinching as Alithia spoke. Edward had really messed with her mind, and he hadn't helped at all with his hot-then-cold attitude with her. He sighed and gently covered her lips with his own. He smiled at the stunned look on her face. Her ears went into their confused position, and she stared down at the charm.

"It is working as it should. I am doing this because I want to." Sesshomaru cupped her cheek and kissed her again. "It is true I have fought my attraction to you— and yes, I _am_ attracted to you," he said when she made a sound of disbelief. "My father died because humans found out that their precious princess was married to a demon. That is part of why I refuse to be like him. Falling in love with that woman made him weak, made him vulnerable. I will not put myself or the one I care about in danger like he so selfishly did," Sesshomaru said bitterly.

Alithia took his hand from her face and interlaced their fingers. "Your father chose to save Izayoi because he loved her. I don't think it is a coincidence that he fought Ryūkotsusei the same day humans attacked Inuyasha's mother. Your father was the most powerful demon in the land. There was no reason for him to be unable to defeat that demon unless he knew Izayoi was in danger. He only took time to imprison Ryūkotsusei because he knew that Izayoi was in danger. I wouldn't consider that a weakness, Maru, I'd consider it strength. I'm sure your father never intended to die that day. He probably thought that he'd have time to come back and finish his fight with Ryūkotsusei. He chose to put the one he loved before his personal battles, and I admire that. He probably didn't realize how seriously he was hurt until he began fighting that insane hu-mmmhf!"

Sesshomaru halted her words with a deep kiss. "I have never considered that possibility. How is it that you are able to see these things?" he asked, resting his forehead on hers. Alithia blushed and gave him a shy smile.

"I'm pretty objective to your family situation. I didn't witness any of it, only heard about what happened through the people who experienced it. I also read a lot. What I just theorized about your father always happens in books. I wouldn't be entirely shocked to find out that the Shikon jewel had something to do with his death, you know. It seems to be connected to your family rather intimately," she said softly. Sesshomaru snorted in agreement.

"Those dreams I saw last night—is that why you were so afraid of me at first?" he asked her quietly. Alithia nodded mutely. He pulled her tight against his chest and sighed. "I do not know what the future will hold—I admit that marriage between us is impossible—but only because it would endanger you," he confessed. Alithia pulled away from him and walked to a large rock. She perched herself on it and faced the forest.

"You won't marry me because I am half human," she said archly. Sesshomaru winced. He hated that she was so observant—she'd seen right through him. A soft laugh caught him off guard. "I'm not at all offended. You will need to produce an heir, a _pureblooded_ heir, if your family and lands are to remain safe. It isn't fair, but that's the way it is. I will find some place in the mountains perhaps, where I will rarely see anyone, and certainly not Rin, to spend the rest of my fairly long life. I know you worry about Rin, so be assured that she will remain safe." Alithia stood up on the rock and moved to leap off it into the forest. He caught her hand and turned her to face him.

"I do not wish for you to leave my side yet. I will have to marry eventually, but until you are old, I wish for you to remain at my side. It pleases me to see you smile and to hear your voice every day. I can wait to marry. I do not foresee finding a suitable mate in the near future, so I wish to spend that time with you. It will not be forever, but it will be a long time," Sesshomaru said softly.

Ali bit her lip and tried to ignore the warmth of Sesshomaru's hand. She was scared that she was going to choose the wrong thing. She could be his mistress—there was no mistaking what he was implying— but she'd only disappoint him, and she'd be shuttled off to some hut in the mountains where he knew where she was at all times. She could persuade him that becoming lovers would only endanger Rin and hope he would let it go. She'd have to make sure that she didn't tease him, but that was something she could live with.

Ali licked her lips and tilted her head up to the star scattered sky. Of course, Sesshomaru could take the rejection much harder than she imagined. She'd proven to have a poor judge of character before. He could banish her to the mainland so that there was no chance of seeing her ever again.

She was distracted from this rather intense train of thought when a meteor streaked across the sky just then, followed closely by several more.

"I asked the gods to do that for you. I thought you might like it," Sesshomaru said with the slightest teasing note in his voice. Ali felt her lips twitch. She knew very well that meteor showers where entirely scientific in nature, and she suspected Sesshomaru did, too, but it was a romantic thought nonetheless. She sighed and turned to him.

"I don't think—" she began. His golden eyes grew fierce as he picked up the rejection in her tone.

"Do not think, Alithia. _Feel_. What is wrong?" he asked. She pulled her gaze from his and stared at a blade of grass.

"I will not please you if we were to become lovers. I have unusual, striking features, yes. But it's not enough with all of my scars," she said quietly. Ali knew he'd seen her point when he didn't respond to her statement. She blushed and tried to free her hand from his.

Sesshomaru felt as if Inuyasha had struck him with the Wind Scar again—she had no idea of her potential or her beauty. He really was going to kill that damned monster who'd done this to her. He growled when she tried to free her hand from his and gently captured her chin with his other hand. "Never let me hear you say such things again, Alithia. You are beautiful, and I would not have even proposed this if I did not think you would please me. You have good instincts and will be one of the best lovers I have ever had. After this moment, you are to disregard anything that bastard ever said to you, do you understand?" he asked quietly.

Ali caught her lip between her teeth but before she could chew on it, Sesshomaru's thumb gently pulled it free. *_Eddie was never this gentle with me without wanting sex. He usually ignored me. Sesshomaru has always shown me kindness without ulterior motives._* Hurt flickered into Sesshomaru's eyes at her further hesitation, and he began pulling away. Ali quickly leaned down and kissed him, her arms looping around his neck.

Sesshomaru's chest had clenched as Alithia chewed on her lip after his declaration, indecipherable emotions racing across her face. He had then gently freed her lip from her teeth before she could injure herself. Her eyes went wide as if she were coming to some conclusion. He thought he knew what that conclusion was and had started to pull away from her. But, then she was kissing him and all thought fled from his mind. He hauled her off the rock and held her tight against him as he returned her kiss, only stopping when the need for oxygen forced him to. Alithia rested her forehead on his and gulped oxygen into her own air-starved lungs.

"Why?" he managed to pant. She smiled shyly at him as he set her feet on the ground.

"Because you are kind to me in a way he never was," she whispered softly. Sesshomaru snorted and kissed her again lightly before burying his face into the crook of her neck to breathe in her scent.

"Maru? What made you give in?" Alithia asked him quietly. Sesshomaru held her tighter and sighed.

"Your dreams—both the erotic one and the one we shared last night. It showed you possess a strength I did not believe you to have. I never want you to endure that sort of pain again, and this is a way to ensure that does not happen," he murmured softly.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Sorry for the hiatus everyone! My Super awesome beta reader didn't receive some of my emails due to tech issues- we haven't figured out who's fault it is yet….. So you'll probably be seeing chapter 15 out next week, then a several week break before chapter 16. Thanks a ton to L.M. Avalon for taking time out of your insane schedule to edit my story! Everyone else, thanks for reading, and enjoy the chapter.

P.S.- I have decided that I'm terrible at writing smut, so there won't be any in this story. Lemon- yes. But no smut. Sorry folks!

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><p>Sesshomaru opened his eyes lazily as a log collapsed in the fire. He didn't remember falling asleep but was too content to care about the potential danger. He rolled to his side as the warm body next to him gave a soft sigh. Sesshomaru propped his head in one hand and placed the other on Alithia's bare thigh. He began to trace delicate patterns on her skin as he thought. He'd been pleased to discover he'd been right about her potential as a lover. He smirked again. *<em>No one shall ever touch her again,<em>* he thought possessively.

After a few moments of watching her sleep, Sesshomaru frowned at Alithia. He didn't see how she could possibly sleep comfortably in the position she was in. She was lying on her back with her hips twisted away from him and her legs curled up close to her body. One arm was flung above her head and the other stretched out toward her weapon. His own body protested just looking at such a position, and he shook his head.

Sesshomaru gently stroked Alithia's ribcage and pressed himself against her. She didn't move an inch. He gave a soft snort of amusement and tried to reposition her in a more comfortable pose. He stopped when she gave a whimper of protest, fear lacing her scent. Sesshomaru kissed her temple and stopped trying to move her. She had not let him see her backside when she was naked, which accounted for her current position—or so he guessed.

Sesshomaru resumed tracing patterns on her skin lightly using his claws, being sure to brush against her ticklish spots. His eyebrow arched when she didn't respond to his touch. She was either ignoring him or was sleeping so hard she couldn't feel what he was doing. A bird chirped in the distance announcing to the world it was dawn. Sesshomaru gave Alithia one last kiss and stood. After dressing in his Hakamas, he began his morning drills. As he flipped Bakusaiga over his wrist, he heard Alithia give a soft gasp. No human would have heard it, and Sesshomaru frowned to himself as he heard her heartbeat accelerate for several seconds before falling back into its natural rhythm. She stood and quietly wrapped their blanket around herself.

"Good morning," Alithia greeted him softly a moment later as she walked toward the hot spring to bathe. Concerned about the small amount of fear still clinging to her, he stopped his drills and gently captured her bare shoulder, forbidding the growl to leave his throat when she flinched.

Ali was jerked awake by a 'something's wrong' sensation. She swallowed her gasp of terror and opened her eyes without moving in case someone was watching her. It took her several seconds to remember where she was. Ali relaxed as she realized that Sesshomaru was no longer lying next to her—that was what the 'wrongness' had been. She got up and quickly wrapped the light blanket around herself so Sesshomaru wouldn't see her back. She greeted him shyly—he was rather grouchy in the mornings and rarely acknowledged her. *_On the plus side, that's the first time since we've been intimate that I didn't blush when saying good morning._*

Ali was proud that she only flinched a little when Sesshomaru touched her. Years ago, she'd learned that waking up like she had this morning meant Bad Things. She hated waking up to the 'something's wrong' feeling—it always left her jumpy for the rest of the day. Sesshomaru spoke, his voice holding evidence of a suppressed growl.

"What is wrong?" he asked. Alithia reached up and smoothed the tic in his jaw. She gave him a small smile and shook her head. She was about to explain when her long ears captured a cry for help. She'd been cataloging all the sounds around them so she could hide her jumpiness better. Silvery blue light filled her vision, nearly blinding her. She felt her feet leave the ground, and Sesshomaru's claws left four long scratches down her arm as she was teleported out of his grip.

Sesshomaru recognized the blank look that filled Alithia's eyes and swore internally as her hand dropped from his cheek. He tightened his grip on both her shoulder and his sword in hopes he'd be pulled with her. She was not clothed for battle nor did she have her weapon with her. He gave a frustrated snarl as she was literally ripped from his grip. He extended his demonic energy as far as he dared, but there were too many villages under assault; there was no telling which one Alithia had been called to. Sesshomaru retracted his demonic aura and resumed his sword drills but soon moved away from the camp when he sensed demons coming to attack him for his power. A smirk crossed his lips as the first of them arrived—sometimes he was thankful for the stupidity of low-level demons.

_Meanwhile…_

Ali coughed and blinked dust from her eyelashes before attempting to sit up. Her head bumped into a wooden beam, and she sighed. She was trapped in a basement with the house above it about to collapse. She could hear someone screaming for their baby outside the burning hut. A soft coo made her look down and see the toddler sitting in a pile of silky material holding a small doll. The child was in a little niche created by several collapsed beams and shielded from debris falling on its head by Ali's body. The toddler looked up and giggled at Ali, its tiny little fangs flashing. Ali spotted the pointed ears and smiled down at it. Shifting carefully, she tucked the silky material around the child and was pleased to see that it was cloth of the fire rat. Moving slowly, she pulled the demon infant against her chest and sat in the space it had previously occupied.

The child fussed for a moment but relaxed against her as Ali hummed to it softly. She was surprised that she'd somehow managed to keep her blanket, though it was a great deal shorter than when she'd wrapped it around her this morning. She was sorta shocked she still had it on—between all the fighting she'd done and having a flaming torch chucked at her, she should have been naked. Closing her eyes, Ali mentally summoned fire to her. A column of flames surrounded her and shot into the sky and obliterated all obstructions above Ali. A terrified scream from the woman crying out for her child made Ali wince, but she ignored it and leapt into the air before the house collapsed into the void created by the flames. She dropped to the ground almost gracefully, only wrenching her ankle a little.

The makeshift dress was now extremely indecent, barely covering her ass, having been singed by fire once again. Ali ignored the lusty smells and stares directed toward her and walked toward the weeping woman who knelt with her face pressed to the ground. Ali knelt and touched the woman's head. "The baby is fine," Ali said softly when the woman jerked upright. She had recognized the sobbing woman as the one who'd been screaming for her child as the hut burned around Ali and the baby. The woman stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment and then saw the bundle Ali was clutching gently against her chest. With a fresh sob, the woman reached for the little demon. Ali gladly handed over the child and stood. As the lady's court surrounded her, Ali cast a 'don't notice' glamour over herself and slipped away from the village. When she was far enough away, she dropped the glamour and boosted her hearing magically, then listened for Sesshomaru's heartbeat. When she'd found it, she smiled softly and began limping back.

Sesshomaru heard a soft rustle and tightened his grip on Bakusaiga as he cleaned it. A moment later, Alithia's scent surrounded him, and he forced himself not to move from his seated position as Alithia stepped out of the trees and gave him an exhausted smile. She limped over to her bag and began digging through it, setting a few things in a small pile. Sesshomaru sheathed Bakusaiga and silently crouched behind her. He wrapped her in his arms, ignoring her startled jerk. He held her tightly and breathed in her scent to find out where she'd been called to. She had a mix of human and demon blood on her as well as soot, dirt, and what he hoped was slime.

He sighed into her hair. He knew where she'd been. Tomorrow, they'd return to the village, and he'd make sure it was repaired quickly. It was a fairly large village where elemental demons lived. They were under constant attack because they liked marrying humans and got along well with them as a general rule. This of course produced half breeds, but it was something he'd long overlooked because pissing off elementals was very, very stupid. They could influence their elements to rebel against him and his lands, and it just wasn't worth the overall trouble.

"They were killing children," Alithia's voice murmured and cracked a moment later. "They had a squadron of soldiers attack the outskirts of the village so that all of the most powerful men and women were sent to protect that side, then they snuck in from the forest and started killing the babies. When the nursemaids tried to stop them, they killed them, too. 'They' being an odd alliance of humans and demons," Alithia finished with a sigh. Sesshomaru kissed a clean spot on her temple and lifted her into his arms.

Ali felt her vision blur with exhaustion and tears as she forced herself to walk into the camp with minimal limping. She was determined not to cry in front of Sesshomaru. She gave him a brief smile even though she was nearly certain that he wasn't paying attention to her. She sat on the ground and started digging through her bag for soap and the like. Her hands were caked in blood and what she pretended was slime. When Sesshomaru's arms slid around her, Ali only managed to suppress the scream in her throat but not her flinch.

She thought she heard a growl emanating from him but ignored it as his warm breath caressed her ears when he sighed. Words began spilling from Ali's lips without her permission as Sesshomaru's long fingers caressed her ribcage absently. She stiffened when he carefully picked her up after she had explained what had happened in the village. "What are you doing?" she questioned when he began walking. She didn't wind her arms around his neck because of the aforementioned blood and ick that coated her hands. Ali had no desire to get it all over his white clothes. Absently, she wondered why he wasn't wearing his armor—the only time she saw him without it was when they were… busy.

"I am helping you bathe—you are exhausted. I do not wish for you to pass out and drown in the hot spring," he said softly. Ali's heart skipped a beat. If he saw her back, he wouldn't want her anymore. If he no longer desired her, he might make her leave. She didn't want that—she felt safe and happy by his side. The mere thought of losing that made her chest clench painfully. She attempted to wriggle free from his arms. Sesshomaru growled down at her.

"I can do it by myself; I'm not that tired anymore. I'll be fine," Alithia protested, fear lacing her words. Sesshomaru frowned down at her, but she wouldn't look him in the eye. Just as he was going to speak, he caught the scent of shame. He sighed and set her on her feet. Before she could bolt, he captured her chin with gentle fingers and tilted her face up.

"Alithia, perhaps you should allow me to decide what makes you undesirable for myself. I saw your dream about being whipped, remember? I fail to see how the scars themselves would disgust me after I saw that," he said softly, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. "And if Edward—" Sesshomaru snarled the name, "—claimed they made you less beautiful, and then he lied to you," he said firmly.

Ali bit her lip and peered up at the tall demon lord who was starting to look cranky. She lowered her gaze to the ticking muscle in his jaw. It always did that when Eddie's name came up. Shyly, she caressed the tic away like she had that morning and stepped closer to him. He was bound to see the mess that was her back eventually, might as well be now. Sesshomaru's ticking jaw relaxed, and he gave her a gentle kiss before scooping her into his arms again. This time Ali wound her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his neck.

At the hot spring, Sesshomaru set Alithia on her feet and tugged the scrap of blanket from around her slender frame. Steeling himself against reaction, he gently turned her around and brushed aside her long hair. Seeing the nightmare he suspected she relived on a regular basis hadn't prepared him for the level of damage he found on her back. Sesshomaru vaguely remembered his mother asking if he was certain she wasn't a runaway slave. The longer he stared at her back, the more he realized that Alithia should be dead. He came to the grim conclusion that her magic must have saved her somehow, even with the spell to seal her powers.

His fingers traced a thick rope-like scar that curved over the shoulder she favored after weapons practice. Sesshomaru ignored the way she jumped and brushed his fingers lightly all over her scars. He knelt, slid his arms around her hips, and pressed his forehead against her spine. There was a strange, aching knot in his throat that rendered him speechless. He felt something wet sliding down his cheeks and realized with shock that tears dripped down his cheek. Sesshomaru held Alithia tighter and ignored her soft gasp as she felt the tears dripping off his face.

Ali concentrated on keeping her breath even as Sesshomaru silently inspected her back. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt the pressure of his fingers against her shoulder. His touch lightened so much she could hardly feel it—most of the nerves in her back were dead, so she only felt pressure. Ali didn't know how to respond when Sesshomaru's arms slid around her hips and his head rested on her back. A breeze from behind them brought the smell of salt, and she gasped as she realized that Sesshomaru was crying. Alithia twisted around in his grip—something of an accomplishment considering how tightly he was holding her.

"It isn't your fault, Maru," she said softly, brushing his hair away from his face and tucking it behind his ear. Sesshomaru gave her belly a gentle kiss before standing.

"I will return in a moment. See if you can get some of that blood off of you," he ordered coldly. Ali nodded and slid into the hot water as he walked away. She didn't mind his abruptness this time. Sesshomaru wasn't the type of man who was comfortable with people witnessing his weaknesses. Ali wasn't entirely certain why he'd been weeping but decided that she didn't really need to know. She rather doubted that he'd ever tell her.

_Three days later_

Choutsuki set her teacup down and lifted an elegant eyebrow as shouting from the courtyard disturbed her afternoon. She nodded to one of the young girls serving tea, and the girl slipped away quietly. Choutsuki smiled apologetically at her guests. "I'm certain everything is fine, Lady Hiromi," she assured the nervous-looking seal demon. The shouting suddenly stopped, and a few minutes later the servant who'd left to investigate the disturbance returned with someone rather surprising.

"Alithia!" Choutsuki gasped in surprise. The girl smiled at her and bowed with much more confidence than the last time she'd seen the Hhalfling. Choutsuki gestured for Alithia to sit next to her and evaluated the girl as she gracefully crossed the room to obey. Alithia wore the armor that Sesshomaru had given her and carried a staff that radiated power. When Alithia sat down, it took all of Choutsuki's will power not to whip her head to stare at the girl. She'd slept with Sesshomaru!

It was a faint scent, meaning the girl had bathed since being intimate with her son, but enough of his scent still clung to the girl to let others know she was taken. Choutsuki sensed that several of the demon women she'd invited to tea were uneasy with Alithia's unique power and began introductions. "Ladies, this is Alithia. She is a distant relative of Inuyasha's wife. Her mother was a Tennin, a servant of Inari—or so we believe. Please introduce yourselves," Choutsuki said with a smile.

Ali wondered how in the world Sesshomaru's mother had come to the conclusion that Inari was the god her mom had served but refused to allow her surprise to show on her face. She smiled graciously at the group of women and decided to see if she could guess what race each woman was as they introduced themselves.

"I am Lady Hiromi," a soft voice from halfway down the table spoke. The owner had large, soft brown eyes. Ali guessed her to be an otter, seal, or sea lion.

"I am Lady Asuka," the red-haired woman next to Hiromi spoke next. Ali nodded to what she thought was a fox demon. She had that same slightly naughty glint in her eyes that Shippo often had.

"Lady Kasumi," murmured a blue-haired demon woman next to Sesshomaru's mother. The fin-like frill on the woman's ears indicated a water demon of some sort—maybe a seahorse—to Ali. There were two women left, a scaled one and one that was giving her the stink eye.

"I am Lady Natsuko and this is Lady Suzume," the scaly woman spoke with amusement lacing her voice at her friend's snotty attitude. "Out of curiosity, can you guess what race we each belong to?" she added. Ali nodded.

"Lady Hiromi is a seal, sea lion, or an otter. Lady Asuka is a fox demon. Lady Kasumi is a water demon, a seahorse I think. Lady Natsuko is a snake demon, and Lady Suzume is a wolf-inu mix," Ali said softly. Everyone but Suzume clapped. Asuka tilted her head at Ali questioningly.

"Lady Hiromi is a seal, and you are correct about Kasumi. How did you guess?" Asuka asked before sipping some tea. Ali smiled.

"Lady Hiromi's eyes. They reminded me of a seal's, but otters and sea lions have similar eyes. You were easy—you remind me of Shippo, an orphaned kitsune that Kagome cares for. Lady Kasumi's ears gave her away. I've met a snake demon quite recently, which is how I recognized Lady Natsuko. Lady Suzume has lovely eyes, and her pelt reminds me of wild wolf-inu hybrids," Ali said with a smile. Suzume's stink eye look became hostile.

"And what breed are you?" she asked, frost coating each word. Ali gave an internal sigh. This woman clearly didn't like her and was going to be one of the people who deserved a good punch in the face. Ali decided to be civil to her—she was a guest in Choutsuki's house after all. *_Maru would be disappointed if I lost my temper,_*she thought to herself and gave the demon a sweet smile.

"My mother was a fox tennin," she said and took a sip of tea. Suzume lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm curious, did she sell you to the brothel that Lord Sesshomaru found you in or did you find it all on your own? And how, exactly, did you enchant him into making you his whore if you were living with his idiot of a brother?" she asked in a casual tone. Several gasps escaped from the ladies, and Ali blinked stupidly as the questions registered in her brain.

"I wouldn't know what a brothel looked like, to be perfectly honest. My mother and my father were murdered by a half-demon who wanted me for my magic. He still pursues me to this day. When Lord Sesshomaru discovered this and that I'd never fought before, he allowed me to travel with him so I could learn from him. I don't believe that any other information concerning our relationship is any of your business," Ali said calmly, concentrating on not letting her anger seep through her scent. Suzume flicked open a fan and waved it in front of her face delicately.

"This demon that pursues you—what is wrong with him that you don't accept his offer?" Suzume asked, ignoring Natsuko's insistent tugging at her sleeve. Ali barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Other than the fact he killed my parents so he could have access to my magic? He's completely insane and an incubus. In fact, I would be extremely wary of anyone introducing himself as a new lord. This man is the son of Naraku," Ali informed the group. The table was quiet for several minutes before Asuka spoke up.

"Are you certain he still wants your magic?" she asked, the light in her eyes now serious. Ali winced and nodded.

"Very certain. Our paths crossed two months ago, and he nearly beat me to death when I refused to marry him. That's how I met a snake demon—Lord Akashino. He saved my life after I escaped from that monster," Ali said seriously. Both Natsuko and Choutsuki looked at Ali with new interest and nearly spoke as one.

"When did Lord Akashino return?" they asked in unison and smiled at each other.

"Uh, I'm not certain. I don't really remember very much of my time with him. Perhaps you can ask M—Lord Sesshomaru. I believe they spoke quite a bit before we parted ways," Ali said.

"Where is my son? I didn't feel his aura when you arrived." Choutsuki said. Ali shrugged.

"I'm not entirely certain. He sent me here with Ah-Un and said that he'd be here this evening," Alithia responded with lips twitching with a suppressed smile. Choutsuki gave her a smirk in return that said she knew Sesshomaru was avoiding the ladies she'd invited to tea. She didn't know when he developed the ability to sense when she had women for tea, but he nearly always managed to avoid it. Choutsuki could see a glint developing in Suzume's eyes, so she hastily excused herself from tea to get Alithia settled before her son arrived.

Choutsuki led the young girl to the rooms Sesshomaru occupied on the rare occasion that he stayed overnight. She showed Alithia how to get to the hot spring and left the girl to relax until Sesshomaru arrived.


	15. Chapter 15

AN1: WOOOT! Chapter 15! I havn't any idea how long this fic will be, but I plan on 60 chapters. It might end up shorter or longer—depends on the plot bunnies. They have ebil plans in store.

AN2: Thanks once again to my Beta reader, L.M. Avalon. Couldn't do this without you!

* * *

><p>Ali tucked the last braid up on her head and let her aching arms drop limply to her sides. She wished she had a modern mirror so she could be sure she didn't look like a mess. She was anxious to see Sesshomaru—he hadn't shown up the night he'd sent her with Ah-Un to his mother's palace three days ago. Instead, he'd sent a message via Myoga stating he had matters to attend to and he'd be there soon and for her to stay put. Ali made a face as she remembered the bossy tone of the note. Still, he had a point. She seemed to get in trouble a lot. Even in his mother's home she had issues—namely Suzume. Ali sighed as she thought of the hybrid demon. Somehow, the bitch had managed to manipulate Choutsuki into extending an invitation to stay for several weeks.<p>

Ali had sent a warning to Sesshomaru so he wouldn't be ambushed by the woman; she seemed the type. Earlier that afternoon Sesshomaru had sent a note stating he'd be there for the evening meal for certain. No mention was made of Suzume, so Ali wasn't sure if her message had even reached him. Suzume really had it in for her, but Ali had decided that being polite would irritate the demon lady far more than taking the bait and attacking her. A knock made her turn to the door and give permission for entry. Ali wished she hadn't the second the door opened—it was Lady Suzume and a servant. She whispered softly to her handmaiden, who went white and spoke to Ali in a tremoring voice.

"Her ladyship wishes for the whore to know that despite the entertainment Lord Sesshomaru finds in sleeping with the whore, her ladyship will be the one to wed him. The whore is allowed a bit of fun, but if she even looks at his lordship after their marriage, the whore will die a most painful death." Ali felt bad for the maid. It wasn't her fault her mistress was an idiotic bitch. Ali smiled sweetly at Suzume.

"Thank you for the warning," Ali said. She really couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't get her killed or have Sesshomaru angry with her. The thanks seemed to throw Suzume for a loop, for she blinked and tilted her head. She addressed Ali directly instead of going through her mouth piece.

"What are you playing at, filth? I know you aren't stupid, so why thank me?" she growled out, her ice blue eyes flashing. Ali smiled at Suzume again, meanly enjoying the rage that crossed the woman's face.

"I always appreciate when someone warns me that they're out for my blood, however unnecessary the warning is." There. Let the hybrid demon figure that one out. Ali was sure she knew Sesshomaru well enough to know that he'd never marry Suzume unless he developed the urge to have a reputation as a wife strangler. The demon glared at her for a moment longer, then swept off down the hall with a supior sniff.

Choutsuki rounded the corner of the hall and braced herself for a bloodbath. A servant had informed her that Suzume had gone in search of Alithia; Choutsuki feared that one or both of them would end up dead. Alithia had done a good job of keeping her temper in check during tea, but now that the two women were alone there was no telling what would happen. Alithia stood in the doorway of Sesshomaru's room with an amused smirk on her face as she stared down the hall in the opposite direction Choutsuki had come from. She just caught the flutter of Suzume's hair as the hybrid rounded a corner and turned her attention to Alithia.

"Are you alright?" she asked the girl, striding over and taking her hand. Alithia smiled at her and nodded.

"She was just informing me that should I look at Sesshomaru after they're married, then she will kill me," she said sardonically. Choutsuki snorted. Sesshomaru would marry Alithia, and the entitled demon lady would be out of luck. Choutsuki smirked as she thought of the outraged expression that the hybrid would wear when she found out. She shook off her internal amusement and inspected Alithia's plain grey kimono and blue obi—it didn't match the elegance of her attempted hairstyle.

Ali fought the urge to squirm under Choutsuki's stare. "Is something the matter?" she asked nervously.

Choutsuki tugged on the hand she still held and led Ali down the hall. "I have something prettier for you to wear," Choutsuki said with a determined voice. Ali recognized it as a tone of 'I-know-what's-best-so-don't-even-fight-me,' so she gave in without protest. She had a feeling that this was why Sesshomaru tended to avoid his mother. Once in Choutsuki's rooms, she was stripped out of the kimono. When the maid removed the white under-kimono, she let out a gasp. Ali sighed internally. The maid had seen the scar from where Eddie had skinned her.

Choutsuki turned her attention from selecting an appropriate kimono for Alithia at the gasp. She swallowed her own gasp as she saw the angry red scar on the girl's shoulder—it was right where Sesshomaru's claim mark had been. Choutsuki reached out to touch it, and Alithia stepped away from her, her hand covering it protectively. "It hurts when people touch it; it's cursed. Maru is the only one who can touch it without making me cry," Ali said. Choutsuki nodded and indicated for the maid to continue dressing Alithia. She hadn't missed the nickname the girl called her son and could hardly wait to begin planning their wedding.

Twenty minutes later Ali was dressed in a dark jade green kimono with a silver phoenix soaring across her body, its wings and tail shedding lavender hued flowers. Ali loved it and sort of hoped she could wear it again. After her hair had been fixed, the maids moved to apply makeup. Ali held up her hand in protest. She really didn't want toxins seeping into her skin all night—if she remembered her history correctly, there was a lot of lead in makeup in this era.

"Child, don't be difficult," Choutsuki admonished the girl.

Alithia smiled at her shyly and spoke in a soft voice. "I can create a glamour if you insist I wear color on my face, but I'd rather not put that stuff on. It has… stuff that could kill me, drive me mad, or at the very least, make me ill."

Choutsuki tilted her head and tapped her fan against her lips. The girl didn't really need anything done—she had the glow of a woman in love. Choutsuki nodded her consent, and the maids left them just as the sun slid behind the castle.

Sesshomaru shifted back to his normal appearance as he landed in his mother's courtyard. As the last ray of sunlight slid off the roof of the castle, he was greeted by the captain of the guards.

"Welcome, my lord. They are waiting for you in the garden," he said with a bow. Sesshomaru nodded once and went to his rooms to change. He sighed internally as his nose caught the lingering scent of violets—Suzume had been skulking around his rooms again. He'd known her since shortly before his parents separated, and she'd been a constant pain in the neck ever since. She'd somehow gotten it into her head that they'd be married. He stripped off his armor and a small smile crossed his lips as Alithia's enticing scent rose up from his bed.

Seshomaru hurried through his bathing ritual and allowed a manservant to assist him as he dressed in a rust colored kimono that had sliver cranes soaring through a forest on it. He made his way to the garden and felt his breath catch in his throat as Alithia came into view, the twilight bathing her in soft light. He'd never seen her dressed in formal attire and decided it suited her very well. Then he spotted Suzume and scowled, not pleased to see her at all. She'd demand all of his attention for the entire evening. The thought annoyed him, and he decided to try something to make her leave him alone, even if it was only for the evening.

Arranging a neutral expression on his face, he approached the women. His mother smiled knowingly at him, but it was strained. Suzume's smile was simpering and disturbing, like she wanted to eat him. However, she was very angry about something, and Alithia's expression indicated why. Alithia had that wicked gleam in her eyes that said she was having fun teasing someone. Given the anger radiating from Suzume, Sesshomaru thought he knew who it was. Ali smiled at him shyly, clearly trying to suppress the naughty gleam in her eyes. He greeted his mother and Suzume politely and then, cupping the back of Alithia's head, kissed her long and hard. He felt himself smile into the kiss as Suzume let out an outraged squeak.

When he released Alithia, she lifted an eyebrow at him. He gave her a brief smile and sat next to her, across from Suzume. "I apologize for my tardiness, Mother," he said as he accepted a cup of tea from the servant. His mother smiled again and patted his hand. He felt Suzume's leg brush his own as she kicked Alithia under the table. Sesshomaru sighed inwardly. Suzume was such a brat.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what kept you from your mother's delightful company?" Suzume recovered from her shock of Sesshomaru's vulgarity and gave him her most charming smile. She would gain his affection and marry him. She'd decided that the moment they'd met as children. There was no other goal in her life. Suzume kicked the half-breed under the table when the upstart began to speak to the demon lord.

"I was providing a squadron of men to a village in my territory. It took longer than expected," he said quietly. Suzume saw an opportunity to impress the demon lord and leapt at the chance.

"My lord, where is this village? If your people are in trouble, I'd gladly provide any resources I have at my disposal," she said with as much humbleness as she could. Suzume's humbleness evaporated as the half-breed whore spoke, an odd smile on her face.

"Really? I'm sure that Hikaru's village will greatly appreciate it. They were attacked earlier this week and are in desperate need of food and timber to repair their homes," she said. Suzume felt her jaw drop in the most undignified manner. She had heard of this village—it was full of treacherous demons who dared to breed with humans. But she couldn't rescind her offer of help; it was well-known Sesshomaru tolerated the village's existence—he'd threatened to kill anyone who attacked it just after the death of his father. She shot the half-breed a look of pure loathing, wondering how she'd heard of the attack.

"Anything they need is theirs, my lord," Suzume murmured, sipping her tea to hide her rage. The demon lord thanked her and gave her a list of things the village needed. She jealously watched the non-verbal communication between the half-breed freak and her lord during this entire exchange. The girl simply had to go. Immediately, if possible.

Sesshomaru forced his face to stay stoic when Alithia gleefully revealed the name of the village only when Suzume couldn't take back her offer to help without looking like a complete bitch. He knew very well that Suzume firmly believed that only the daiyoukai deserved to exist, that anyone else was just dirt. She especially hated half-breeds. Sesshomaru had once considered marrying her; she was smart, actually followed the proper etiquette for her station, and was very beautiful. But then he'd overheard her talking to one of the simpering ladies of the court about how she'd wipe out Hikaru's village—or rather, how she'd get him to do it for her. If she'd simply asked him, he might have considered doing it. But she'd thought him to be like his human-loving father. Not only had she misjudged him, but Suzume had then chosen to manipulate him—which he despised with every fiber of his being. She'd also thrown a massive tantrum over a bit of spilled tea one time. He'd been grateful to realize her true temperament before he'd mated with her.

He glanced at Alithia as he accepted Suzume's offer. Alithia was gloating into her teacup and, sensing his gaze, glanced up at him. He arched an eyebrow at her, making her neck go that delicious red he knew went down to her belly. Sesshomaru gave his head a subtle shake—if Alithia continued to harass the demon hybrid, she'd end up with a price on her head. Suzume couldn't stand being mocked.

Choutsuki could see that Suzume was close to losing her temper, so she hastily ordered for the servants to begin serving the meal. She smothered a smile as her son spent the entire meal sneaking glances at Alithia, who seemed nearly oblivious to his attention. When she did feel his gaze, her neck turned crimson, which made her son's eyes light up with lust. It was vaguely disturbing to realize such an intimate thing about her son, but she could tell he was happier than he'd been since before Makoto had left her.

Choutsuki engaged Suzume in small talk and hid a smile as Sesshomaru captured Alithia's hand under the table and held it for the remainder of the meal as she continued to harass the demoness intent on marrying Sesshomaru. After they'd finished eating, Choutsuki suggested a walk and took Suzume's arm to show her the changes she'd had made to the garden, pretending not to notice when Sesshomaru led Alithia down a different path.

During dinner, Ali wondered if she was a bad person for teasing Suzume (and wholly enjoying the process). Distracted by the lingering tingle on her lips from Sesshomaru's kiss, Ali had nearly squealed out loud as Suzume kicked her. Hard. *_Nope, not a bad person. She's going to pay for that,_* Ali thought in annoyance. She only stopped teasing the demoness when Sesshomaru intertwined their fingers, his thumb stroking hers in a distracting manner. Even after dinner, he continued to hold her hand captive as they trailed behind Choutsuki and Suzume through the gardens. She let out a breathless gasp as he suddenly veered off the path and pressed her against a tree.

"Naughty little fox. You should not tease her—she might attempt to kill you," he murmured sensually. Ali giggled nervously at the intensity in his eyes. It did such strange things to her belly. He smirked down at her and kissed her, gently nipping her bottom lip. When he came up for air and rested his forehead against hers, Ali spoke breathlessly.

"Suzume has already put a price on my head," Ali whispered. Sesshomaru's head jerked back and a nasty snarl escaped his lips. He started pulling away, his eyes bleeding red. Ali was shocked to discover she wasn't afraid of him even though he was angry. She grabbed a strand of his hair and pulled his head back down, then gently kissed the fang that began to descend from his mouth. "It was a pointless warning. She said that if I even looked at you after you married her, she'd kill me." Ali left out the part about being called a whore; she didn't want to sound like a whiny brat. She could tell Sesshomaru was still upset, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

Sesshomaru forced his fury to retreat and held Alithia in a crushing grip. The thought of Suzume doing anything to hurt her both enraged him and made it hard to breathe. He sighed into Alithia's hair as he relaxed and stepped back from her. She gave him a shy, uncertain smile, her eyes questioning.

"I am calm now. I want to know what else Suzume said to you," he said as he cupped her cheek. Alithia inhaled deeply and, catching her bottom lip between her teeth, began to gnaw on it. He knew it meant that she didn't want to tell him, but she didn't want to lie either. He sighed, freed her lip from her teeth, and kissed it lightly. "Never mind," he murmured softly and then led her back to where his mother was.

_The next afternoon_

Suzume had received word that her father was ill and had left early that morning. Sesshomaru was grateful for that; he wanted to choke the woman, and not just for threatening Alithia. He suppressed a soft growl as he searched for the maid who'd cleaned Suzume's room; the staff always knew what was going on behind closed doors. He found the girl in the kitchens and was shocked when she threw herself at his feet with a shriek.

"My lord, please please don't kill me. I had to say those things—she made me!" she wailed. Sesshomaru glanced at the rest of the pale-faced staff, most of whom wore grim expressions. He nudged the prostrate girl on the floor with his toe gently.

"This Sesshomaru wishes to know of what you speak," he said in his snottiest tone. The girl rose to her knees and, keeping her eyes trained on the floor, repeated everything Suzume had said to Alithia through her. Sesshomaru clenched his jaw and tried to remain calm. One by one, the staff informed him of all the interactions between the two women since Alithia's arrival. He clenched his fists and kept the stoic look on his face as long as he could. "Why tell this Sesshomaru these things when you so clearly fear for your lives?" he questioned with a growl. One of the maids peered at him shyly.

"We despise Lady Suzume. She is little more than a spoiled brat. My sister works in her father's home—she breaks things and then has a servant whipped for her sins. She is not a good woman. Lady Alithia, on the other hand, is respectful of our positions. She does not try to do our job, but she doesn't make it harder either," the woman said softly.

Sesshomaru snorted and left the kitchen to find his mother. If only Alithia was a full blooded demon, he could marry her; his own staff had expressed similar sentiments about his vixen. A smile crossed his lips at the thought. Alithia instinctively seemed to know how to gain the respect and loyalty of everyone she encountered, something that was invaluable to someone in his position.

"It is good to see you smile, my son," Choutsuki said as she emerged from her rooms. He snorted and wordlessly led her out to a balcony. He suppressed a chuckle as he spotted Alithia's tiny fox form in a tree watching his mother's guard practice their drills. Choutsuki followed the direction of his gaze and lifted an eyebrow.

"She can shapeshift?" she murmured in surprise. "She's lovely," Choutuski added as an afterthought. Sesshomaru braced his forearms on the balcony rail and watched Alithia as she grew bored of spying and began to wander. His jaw clenched tightly as sunlight danced across the scars on her back. In her fox form, only the worst scars showed—which made it seem like it wasn't bad at all.

"Sesshomaru? Are you alright?" he turned his head to his mother and realized he'd been growling. Sesshomaru gave a stiff nod and waited until Alithia had vanished in the direction of the gardens.

"You did not tell me she has hardly any sensation left in her back at all," he growled out, reproach filling his voice.

Choutsuki swallowed hard. She hadn't known; the girl had not wanted to talk about it after her initial breakdown all those months ago. Choutsuki gently touched his hand in apology.

"She told you what happened?" she asked. Choutsuki was quickly coming to realize that Alithia was nearly as stubborn as Sesshomaru; if she didn't want to talk about something, then she wouldn't. Sesshomaru sighed.

"In a manner of speaking. I had seen a dream of hers by accident while meditating one night and decided to see if I could do it intentionally. I can. She often dreams of the man who scarred her. She relives each strike of the whip every time she has that dream. He did it to break her, though he told her it was for stealing food." Sesshomaru's eyes bled and his aura flared as he imagined killing the bastard. Choutsuki tilted her head and tapped her lips with her fan.

"Why don't you find out everything you can about this man and, since she's from the future, kill him before he ever touches her?" Choutsuki asked. Sesshomaru felt his jaw ticking and had to take a deep breath before he could hide most of the growl in his voice.

"She refuses to tell me anything outside of what I saw. Alithia says I cannot interfere with such a pivotal moment in her life. There is nothing I can do besides hold her when she is finally able to free herself from the nightmare. She does not usually scream; I believe she was beaten for screaming in terror. I do not know how to heal this hurt of hers, Mother," he said softly, clenching his fists so tightly that his claws dug into the palms of his hands.

Choutsuki had never seen her son so upset—not even her separation from Makoto had seemed to bother him much. She sighed and placed a gentle hand on his wrist. "You have healed her far more than you realize, son. Alithia is now a strong, confidant young woman who begins to believe in her own beauty. She does not flinch nearly as much now when touched, nor does she act as if she were pretending she is not terrified. Do you know what she has been up to these last few days? She has been teasing Suzume in the most subtle ways and rather enjoyed doing it if that wicked glint in her eyes is anything to go by," Choutsuki said with a smile.

She cupped his cheek and looked into his pain-filled eyes. "She will be fine. Simply continue to remind her of her true self. I know you can see it—help her see it, too. Perhaps one day she will cease to have these nightmares," Choutsuki said softly. The indifferent look Sesshomaru usually wore came back over his face as he unclenched his fists.

"I wish to be alone for the day. If you see her, distract her," Sesshomaru ordered and leapt off the balcony. Choutuski wasn't a bit surprised or offended; Sesshomaru was a solitary creature by nature and hated having witnesses to what he perceived as weaknesses. She shook her head and went in search of the girl.

Ali wriggled her butt in preparation for a good pounce, eyeing the fluttering obi with gleaming eyes. She pounced a little too hard, for she went sailing over the line the obi hung on and skidded ungracefully across the grass on her belly. She knew it was too much to hope for that Sesshomaru hadn't seen that—he always caught her in the most awkward positions. She stood up with as much dignity as she could muster and went looking for him. Ali finally found him in a tree, staring at his rapidly healing knuckles. She leapt up into the tree and made her way toward him. She was surprised to discover he wasn't wearing his armor yet again.

Ali paused on his branch and yipped softly to get his attention. A sliver of fear raced down her spine and made all her fur puff up when he lifted his blood red eyes to her, a black look on his face. For a moment, all she could see was the man who had taught her to fear angry men—she forgot that this was Sesshomaru, who wouldn't hurt her unless she was endangering someone he cared about. She gulped mentally and scooted backwards, scrunching her body into a tiny ball. She oh-so-gracefully fell to the branch below and, abandoning all pretense of being non-threatening, began scrambling down the tree. Sesshomaru's voice stopped her mad descent from the tree.

"Alithia." She froze mid-crouch and flicked an ear back toward him. "Come here." Ali slowly returned to Sesshomaru's branch and hesitantly raised her eyes to meet his. The red was fading from them, and he held out a hand to her. She cautiously approached him, ready to leap the twenty-five feet to the ground if she needed to flee quickly. A muscle jumped in his jaw and the red seeped back into his eyes. Ali jumped onto his stomach and, bracing her front paws on his collar bones, she gently licked the ticking muscle before nuzzling his cheek. Sesshomaru sighed and ran his claws across her skull gently.

"I did not mean to scare you. I am not angry with you," he said softly. Ali butted her head against his chin to let him know she was okay and lay on his chest. A speck of dust landed on her nose, and she sneezed violently.

The sneeze made her lose her concentration on her fox form temporarily. It was enough to make her shift back into her human form. She yelped and clutched at Sesshomaru as her legs dangled in mid-air. Sesshomaru grabbed one of her bare thighs and yanked her back into his lap. She still had problems shapshifting back to her human form with clothes, especially if she was startled. Ali turned her burning face into Sesshomaru's heaving chest, too embaressed to look him in the eye.

Her head shot up when he gave a suspicious rumble. He was laughing at her! When their eyes met, he started chuckling audibly. "I'm so glad I amuse you," she said a little sarcastically. He smirked, his grumpiness seeming to disappear. Ali stuck out her tongue, smiling when he snapped his teeth at it. She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth. As she pulled away, he cupped the back of her head again and gave her a long, passionate kiss. When they pulled apart for air, Sesshomaru moved his hand from the back of her skull to cup her cheek.

"Go find my mother—I told her to find you because I wished to be alone this afternoon due to my foul mood, but you have improved it a great deal. I will find you before supper," he stated softly as he caressed her cheek. Ali smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss before shifting back into her fox form.

On the porch outside her rooms, Choutuski set her book down and sighed. Her bored gaze drifted outside and lit up as she spotted Alithia heading toward her. The little fox leapt gracefully onto the porch and began heading away from the demoness. Choutsuki lifted an eyebrow and started to follow her—it wouldn't do for the girl to disturb her son in his black mood.

"She'll come see you in a moment, I believe. If not, I can go fetch her," Amino said softly, halting Choutsuki in her tracks. Choutsuki turned to her lifelong servant—friend, really—and lifted an eyebrow. "Lady Alithia has not quite mastered the art of shifting back into her human form with clothes. She went back to her rooms so she could dress. She told me herself when she realized who I was," Amiko added.

Meanwhile, Ali tugged her ponytail one last time and then ran a hand over her lavender and blue sundress. She loved kimonos and yukatas, but this dress required no help in putting on. It was also the only dress she had from the modern era with her—most of her clothes were designed to handle rough hiking. After hearing some of the things that Kagome had gone through, Ali admired the way her grandfather had packed for her journey to the past. After shaking off her thoughts, she slipped out of the room and quickly found Sesshomaru's mother.

"Good afternoon, Lady Choutsuki," she said with a bow to the demoness. Choutsuki laughed and lifted her chin up.

"Don't be so formal. You don't have to bow to me! Please, call me Mother," Choustuki said with a smile. Ali felt her forehead wrinkle in confusion. "I would never require my daughter-in-law to address me as anything other than Mother," Choutsuki said patiently when she saw Ali's confused expression.

Ali felt heat race into her cheeks, then it quickly disappeared. Why in the world did his mother think she was going to marry Sesshomaru? She couldn't let such a misconception please the demon lady. She better clarify things for the demoness before Choustuki did something crazy like plan the whole wedding. She sighed and spoke formally as she could.

"Lady Choutsuki, you are mistaken. Sesshomaru and I will not be getting married. He has already told me he will not marry me. I am uncertain of how you came to this conclusion, and I offer my sincerest apology if it was something I said."

Choutsuki stared at the girl and realized she wasn't joking. "My son is an idiot."


	16. Chapter 16

AN- Once again, all the thanks to my wonderful beta, L.M. Avalon. You make my story coherent!

NOTICE TO READERS! inspired by the Chinese influence of Sesshomaru's armor, I went and found a Chinese endearment for him to use on Alithia. of course, I found one I liked right away-buuuut I forgot to see if it was Mandarin or Cantonese. If anyone knows, pm me and let me know. I did a bit of research to see if both dialects were spoken in china, but I kept pulling up questionable sites(coughwikipediacough).

Zhi Ai means Most Beloved, by the way

* * *

><p>Ali bit her lip while Choutsuki's eyes went frosty as she called Sesshomaru an idiot. She didn't want to be responsible for driving a wedge between Sesshomaru and his mother, so she hastily began explaining.<p>

"Sesshomaru is not an idiot. He has good reasons for not marrying me," she said quietly. Choutsuki snorted contemptuously. Ali hesitantly put her hand on Choutsuki's arm. "He wants to protect these lands—if he married me, demons would constantly be attacking me. He wouldn't be able to leave me alone—he wouldn't trust anyone with my protection other than himself. I put myself in enough danger as it is. He can't protect his people properly if he's constantly worried about me. Besides, when I was a child I did something very stupid and was attacked by a wild bear. I cannot safely carry a child. Sesshomaru will need a pureblooded heir, and I can't give that to him," Ali explained quietly.

Choutsuki gave a soft huff. "Are you happy? I seem to remember a time when you were upset at my assumption that you were his concubine," she pointed out. Alithia gave a solemn nod and smiled shyly at Choutsuki.

"That was mostly out of fear that he would kill me if I allowed you to continue misunderstand the situation. I know him better now and have come to realize that he's not going to kill me for breathing," Ali said wryly. "I refuse to be ruled by my fear any longer," she added with a defiant spark in her eyes. She was surprised when Choutsuki cupped her chin and kissed her forehead.

"Do you know how to play Go?" the demoness took Ali by the hand and led her down the hall. Ali made a face.

"Yes, but I'm terrible at it," Ali said with a laugh. Choutsuki tilted her head at the girl.

"Surely you can't be that terrible." Choutsuki wondered if this was some sort of false modesty—it would be the first the girl had ever displayed. An hour and three games of Go later, she realized that Alithia had not been exaggerating when she said she was terrible at the game. In the middle of their fourth game, Choutsuki watched Alithia chew her lip and bounce a stone in her hand as she tried to decide where she wanted to place it.

Choutsuki nearly jumped out of her skin as her son appeared out of nowhere and reached over Alithia's shoulder and take the stone she'd been bouncing in her hand to place it on the board. His hand then drifted to Alithia's mouth, where he gently pulled her lip from her teeth without looking at her face. She was shocked to realize that Alithia had not been surprised by Sesshoumaru's appearance. The girl tilted her head backwards and gave Sesshomaru a soft smile as Choutsuki took her turn. Alithia's smile vanished as he wordlessly pulled the ribbon from her hair, making it tumble down her back.

"We will be leaving before dawn—be rested," Sesshomaru said. Choutsuki pouted at him as Alithia gave a distracted nod as she stared at the Go board. Sesshomaru ignored his mother and placed another stone on the board. Alithia stood up and gestured for Sesshomaru to take her place. His eyebrow hitched at her, and she blushed.

"I'm terrible at this game. I don't mind watching you play, though," she explained. Sesshomaru took her seat with a soft noise of consent. A silent game ensued between mother and son, Chotsuki only winning because she'd captured so many of Alithia's pieces before Sesshoumaru's appearance. As they began a new game, Choutsuki decided now was the time to question Alithia, who seemed less inclined to avoid questions in Sesshomaru's presence.

"How is it you were not startled when my son appeared just now? I was startled myself," Choutsuki asked as she placed a stone on the table. Sesshomaru made his move and gave a curious look to Alithia as well.

"I have been wondering that myself. How is it that I rarely startle you?"

Alithia blushed and brushed her hair back away from her face. "I can hear certain things very well if I concentrate. I've taught myself to listen for Sesshomaru's heartbeat. I'm only startled when it doesn't noticeably change or if I'm tired," she said softly, ducking her head.

Choutsuki exchanged lifted eyebrows with her son. It was an interesting gift, and a black expression flickered over her son's face as he apparently came to some conclusion—one that did not please him. She turned back to Alithia and asked her another question.

"Since the moment I have met you, you have been rather reluctant to discuss anything of yourself. Why did you say so much about Naraku's son the other night at dinner?" Choutsuki didn't miss the surprised hurt that flickered across Sesshomaru's face.

"Because they needed to know. I mean, it might not do any good—Eddie can be extremely charming when he wants to be, but at least they know Naraku may as well be back. They'll likely tell their families, and servants will overhear and gossip. The more the word is out that something of Naraku lives, the more people will try and kill him, which can only be a good thing," Alithia said as she fussed with a strand of hair. "Besides—Suzume was ticking me off," she added sheepishly.

Choutsuki snorted. Suzume was a pain in the ass. Thinking of Suzume reminded her of the conversation the previous night at dinner. "Child, how did you know which village Sesshomaru had been to? Last night at diner you told Suzume the name of that village without having spoken to my son first." Choutsuki hoped that the two idiots in front of her had begun to bond. They were obviously falling in love, and if they bonded then Sesshomaru's plan to leave the sweet girl would implode. Alithia bit her lip and gave Sesshomaru a questioning glance, raising Choutsuki's hopes about the bond. He nodded once and took her hand gently.

"It was partially my fault that the village is in the condition it's in. A while ago, my mother appeared to Sesshomaru and warned him that any time a woman or child calls for help and I hear it, I am magically obligated to save them, despite any danger it puts me in. Just after dawn three days before I arrived here, I heard such a call and was instantly transported to Hikaru's village. I fought several demons and humans. It got rather, um, ugly, and one of the humans set the village on fire before I was able to kill him. After my obligation was fulfilled I returned to Sesshomaru to regain my strength. It's exhausting work, being a savior. Sesshomaru initially intended for me to go with him to check on the village, but something—I'm not sure what—changed his mind, and he sent me here while he went to the village alone. Maru, what did change your mind?" Alithia turned to the demon lord.

Choutsuki gave an internal sigh as Sesshomaru studied the Go board. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer his lover, but he set down one of his black stones and answered in a soft voice. "At the time, I was unaware that you had saved the life of Hikaru's child. You were not feeling well, and I thought it best you came here to regain your strength," he said. Choutsuki hid a smile as Alithia snorted.

"Translation, you thought that the villagers would want to kick my ass, given my partiality for trouble," Alithia corrected with a matter-of-fact voice. Sesshomaru's lips quirked in amusement, the only acknowledgement he gave to Alithia signifying she was correct.

Choutsuki's heart clenched in her chest—sometimes she could very much see Makoto in her son. She and Makoto had not truly loved one another, but there was great respect between them. She had cared for him a little, though she'd spent the last several hundred years resenting his decision to take up with a human. She'd met Inuyasha shortly after his own mother had died and had been surprised how much like a young Makoto he was. It had stopped her from killing him on the spot, and given how Inuyasha and Sesshomaru destroyed the freak half-demon eleven and a half years ago, it was a good thing she'd let the uncouth brat live.

Hating the melancholy that was attempting to consume her, Choutsuki hastily asked the young girl across from her another question.

"Little one, do you have any tales from your time that I might not have heard of?" she asked as she reset the Go board for another game. She had to stop letting her son thoroughly trounce her—it was undignified. Alithia's eyes lit up, and she tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Many, many years ago, there was a band of performers who roamed the land…." Alithia began her story with a soft smile.

_A week later_

Ali held her breath as another wave of pain danced over her body, letting it out slowly as Jaken asked her a question. She answered him quietly, pleased that none of her pain was seeping into her voice. She hopped lightly over a large stump and swallowed as another spike of pain stabbed into her brain. Ali tilted her head back to study the night sky—she guessed she'd held off her transformation an hour longer than usual. It hurt like hell, but Sesshomaru wasn't there, and she didn't think that Jaken would be able to protect her from all the horny demons. Sesshomaru had received a note that had made him extremely grouchy two days ago when Jaken had arrived. He'd taken off, not bothering to say where he was going. Ah-Un pressed one of their heads into her shoulder, a low groan of concern brushing across her skin. Ali tightened her control of her scent and patted the dragon's nose. Then both of the dragon's heads turned left, their ears pricking up expectantly. Ali sighed inwardly with relief—Sesshomaru was near.

_A half hour earlier_

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to rub his aching head. He had always considered Inuyasha to be the biggest idiot on the continent, but the three wolves loping along the road at his side had proved him wrong. Koga had caught Eddie's scent on the edge of his lands and had sent a message to Sesshomaru immediately. By the time they had journeyed to the spot where Koga had scented the bastard, the scent had been completely erased. They suspected it had been done magically.

After discovering that Naraku had managed to stay alive the previous year, Sesshomaru had sent messengers to all of their former allies. This was the first time they'd had even a hint of Naraku's son other than the time He'd nearly beaten Alithia to death. Sesshomaru felt his fangs begin to descend as he let out a very soft growl. The wolves heard it, Koga's companions stumbling over each other in their haste to get away from him.

"Yo, Lord Dog Breath, what are we doing here? I thought we were looking for that slimy bastard," the leader of the wolf clan said, nimbly leaping over his fallen companions even though he'd been walking backwards. Sesshomaru felt his jaw tick at the disrespect and ignored Koga.

Koga huffed in annoyance as the great demon lord ignored him. He wasn't surprised the mutt was always fighting with the stuck-up jerk. He was somewhat tempted to punch the guy himself. He turned his attention from the icicle walking next to him and glared at Ginta and Hakkaku, who were crouched on the ground whispering. They were still terrified that Sesshomaru was going to kill Koga over the incident where his ward had died because Koga had allowed the pack to attack the human villagers many years ago.

"Oi, what are you two slowpokes muttering about?" he demanded, leaping over to their side to get them moving. Ginta held up a leaf that had a smear of blood on it, glancing nervously at Sesshomaru's retreating back. Koga took it and gave a careful sniff. He blinked in surprise and then gave a casual shrug. He returned to Sesshomaru's side and held out the leaf so the demon lord could smell his lover's blood.

Sesshomaru glanced at the wolf clan leader as he held up a leaf. When Alithia's scent registered in his brain, he sighed. He could smell pain and magic coming from the leaf as well, meaning Alithia had been so busy fighting her transition to her human self that she hadn't noticed she'd injured herself. Sesshomaru refused to pick up his pace—Alithia was not hurt badly, so there was no need to hurry.

Koga was impressed with the demon lord's self-control; if it had been Kagome's scent they had found, Inuyasha would have recklessly tore through the jungle alerting every demon there was that someone was nearby and hurt. Koga nimbly leapt over a log and stepped out onto the moonlit path several steps ahead of Sesshomaru. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for Jaken to shut up and notice him, which the toad didn't. Koga snorted and turned his attention to the pale woman holding Ah-Un's reigns with one hand, the other hand tightened around a long staff. Koga inhaled as a breeze carried her scent toward him and frowned—he thought she looked sort of frail for someone like Sesshomaru. He blinked in surprise as she lifted her head, her violet eyes full of determination. Koga gave her a lazy smile and held his hands up so she wouldn't feel threatened. His smile faltered as she continued to stare at him suspiciously.

Ali wacked Jaken with her staff and regarded the man in the road with suspcion. Jaken turned to yell at her for hitting him and was silenced as Sesshomaru brushed past the weirdo on the road to kick him. Ali flinched under the weight of Sesshomaru's glare and gasped in surprise when he cupped the back of her head. She lost control of her magic seconds later when Sesshomaru's lips captured hers in a heated kiss. When he lifted his mouth from hers a long moment later, Ali felt her stomach heave from holding off her transformation for so long. She staggered as her knees buckled and clutched at Sesshomaru's armor to remain upright.

Koga cocked his head as the woman in the road with the strange magic let out an adorable squeak of surprise as Sesshomaru kissed her. She glowed brightly for a moment, then the light surrounding her shattered. Now human-looking, she stumbled forward and used Sesshomaru's armor to stay upright. Sesshomaru wordlessly took her staff and lifted her into his arms. With a graceful leap, he mounted the two headed dragon and held the staff and the woman in his arms gently. Hakakkku and Ginta finally stumbled out of the woods, bumping into Koga. He turned to scold them, though he was really observing the tenderness that the demon lord was displaying as he tucked his MokoMoko around the woman. He thought it was best left unmentioned and smacked his two friends on the head so they would keep their mouths shut.

Ali's head roared at her for a good fifteen minutes as she lay against Sesshomaru. She could hear Jaken arguing with two people, making her wonder what had possessed Sesshomaru earlier—he wasn't the type to publicly display his affection. When her nausea was finally quelled, she tilted her head so she could look at Sesshomaru's face. He was very cranky, as evident by his ticking jaw. She lifted a hand and smoothed the tic repeatedly until his jaw unclenched and his eyes softened. He glanced down at her and huffed a soft breath against her fingers.

"I have told you not to do that," he scolded softly. Ali bit her lip and looked down at his throat.

"I know. But I was worried Jaken wouldn't be able to protect me. I think I could have held onto the magic—" Ali's explanation was cut off by his fierce glare.

"Do not fight the transformation so, Alithia. It only makes you weaker. If you do it again I will punish you severely," he murmured softly. Ali shrank away from him, a tremor racing through her body. Sesshomaru's fingers pressed into her hip gently, and he glanced down at her with solemn gold eyes. "I will not ever strike you in anger, Zhí Aỉ. I simply meant that you would be receiving extra drills, or something of a similar nature. I may hurt you while I am training you, but it will never be intional. Do you understand?" he said, his gaze returning to the road. Ali nodded meekly.

"I'll try, but I can't promise I won't do it if I'm alone and scared. If you're here, I definitely won't," Ali said, her heart giving an extra thump when the corners of his lips lifted in a brief smile.

"Go to sleep. I will introduce you to the wolves in the morning. You may trust them, for they hate that man as much as you do," he said. Ali tucked her head against his shoulder and gave a tiny sigh of contentment. Her head still ached, but the warmth from Sesshomaru's body and the faint beating of his heart soothed her into oblivion.

_The next morning_

Koga charged at the fox tennin, his Goraishi extended and crackling with energy. He'd known what she was the moment she'd gotten up and still had her human form—his mother had told him stories about the special servants of the gods and had said to have one as an ally was the best of luck; to have them angry at you was the worst of it. Sesshomaru had taken his two friends and had gone looking for the damn bastard who'd destroyed yet another life. The demon lord had instructed him to spar with his woman, his eyes saying that if one hair on her head was actually harmed Koga was one very dead wolf.

*_Though, I wonder if he knows he was saying that. His mouth certainly didn't say much more than his initial instructions_,* Koga thought as Ali, as she insisted on being called, dodged his claws and swung her staff at his head.

With a wild laugh, he dodged the blow and attacked her again. They sparred for nearly an hour before there was something made Koga's hair stand on end. He leapt to Ali's side and grabbed her wrist to push her behind him. "Shhhh!" he ordered when she began to protest. Koga growled when a stray breeze brought a familiar stench toward him.

"Does that pathetic dog know you're messing around with other men?" a voice inquired from the left. Koga felt Ali's pulse jackrabbit as they turned in unison toward the voice. Instead of the baboon-covered figure Koga had expected to see, there was a man dressed like a noble standing just inside the trees. "I once asked a tiny favor of you—give my friends a taste of your luscious body—and you abandoned me. Now I find you sleep with anything with four legs? I'm most disappointed in you, my dear. In the future you will have no excuse to deny me anything I wish. Come now, dearest," the man oozed with confidence as he held out a hand.


End file.
